
Copyright N^_ 

CDPMRIGHT DEPOSm 



THE IRISH TANGLE 

AND 

A WAY OUT 




THOMAS COSTELLO JOHNSON 



NEW YORK 
EDWIN S. GORHAM, PUBLISHER 
H WEST 45tb STREET 






Copyright, 1920, 

BY 

Thomas Costello Johnson 



g)Ci.A565336 



TO 
MY FRIENDS ON BOTH SIDES 
OF THE ATLANTIC AND 
ALL WEU..WISHERS 
OF IRELAND 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

INTRODUCTORY 9 

Reasons for writing. — A talk in the South, which 
led to others elsewhere. — A word from the late 
Colonel Roosevelt. 

CHAPTER I. — From New York to Ireland in War- 
Time 13 

Distinguished passengers. — Life on board ship. — 
Army officers and men. — A submarine scare. — At 
Liverpool. — War-marks, and the British spirit. 
— Holyhead to Dublin. — England and Ireland — A 
contrast. 

CHAPTER II. — Early Events of Great Importance 22 

Ireland invaded. — Folk-lore, legend, and authentic 
history. — Troubles at home. — Finn MacCool. — 
Saint Patrick, and other Saints and Missionaries. 
Art and literature. — Classes of society. — The Bre- 
hon Law. — The Danish invasion. — Malacki and 
Brian. — Internal strife. — Roderick O'Connor, Su- 
preme King. 

CHAPTER III. — Later Invasion and Rebellion 40 

Dermot MacMurragh and his Foreign Allies. — 
Archbishop O'Toole, the peacemaker. — Henry II. 
distributes Ireland among his followers. — King 
Richard. — King John and the Irish factions. — The 
"English Pale." — The Bruces in Ireland. — "Statute 
of Kilkenny." — Richard II. tries to stop rebellion. 
— Parliament, 1449, and 1466. — The Imposter 
5 



CONTENTS 



PAGE 

Simnel and German aid. "Poyning's Law." — 

Policy of Henry VIII. — Edward VI. — Mary and 
Elizabeth. — The Geraldine Rebellion. — Foreign ex- 
peditions. — Desmond despoiled. — Rebellion under 
Hugh O'Neill, assisted by Spain. — Lord Mount joy's 
Victory. — The Plantation of Ulster. — Charles I. 
and Wentworth. — The Rebellion of 1641. — Royal- 
ist Ireland and Cromwell. — James II. and William 
of Orange. — Repeal of all offensive laws by James. 
James defeated at Old Bridge. — Repressive Laws. — 
Laws injurious to Irish trade. 

CHAPTER IV.— The Union and Some of Its Results 60 

Distinguished leaders. — Various societies formed. 
— The Volunteers, and the 1783 Parliament. — Coer- 
cion. — Enfranchisement of Roman Catholics. — 
Wolf Tone and the 1798 Rebellion.— Northern 
Orangemen. — The Union. — Efforts to Repeal. — 
Daniel O'Connell enters Parliament. — National ed- 
ucation. — Various reforms. — The "Young Ireland 
Party." — John Mitchell and independence. — The 
Famine, 1845-7, and American aid. — The Church 
of Ireland dis-established. 

CHAPTER V. — Remedial Measures of Importance. . 78 

Progressive legislation. — The Land Acts, between 
1870 and 1909, and their results. — Sir Horace 
Plunkett's Co-operative plans. — The Irish Agricul- 
tural Society. — Congested Districts' Board. — La- 
borers' cottages. — The Recess Committee. — Local 
Government, 1908, and its working. — ^^Irish Univer- 
sities. — Secondary education. — Gaelic League. 

CHAPTER VI.— Home Rule and the 1916 Rebellion 99 

"Home Rule" and Parnell. — The Gladstone Bills, 
and Opposition. — House of Lords disciplined. — 
The Asquith Bill, 1910, and Ulster's Pledge.— Sinn 
Fein's Volunteers. — Ulster Volunteers. — Sinn 



CONTENTS 



PAGE 

Fein's beginning; and attitude toward the Home 
Rule bill. — Sinn Fein and the War. — Sir Roger 
Casement and Germany. — Destruction Wrought 
by 1916 Rebellion. — Redmond's Volunteers. — Mr. 
Asquith's visit, and payment for damage. — The Ef- 
fect of the Rebellion in the Empire; in Ireland; 
and in Germany and Austria. — Arguments for 
Home Rule, and the appeal to President Wilson. 
— The Ulster rejoinder, and arguments against 
Home Rule. 

CHAPTER Vn. — Attitude in the War and the 
Irish Convention 122 

Army unprepared. — The Navy and Admiral Sims. 
— Volunteers. — Ireland's first aid to the King- 
dom. — Her contribution. — Reasons for later aloof- 
ness. — Mr. Bonar Law's "Monroe Doctrine" — Con- 
scription, and England's Labor Unions. — Anti- 
conscription in Ireland, and the loyal support of 
many. — Cork Red Cross Work. — What Americans 
in Ireland did. — The Irish Convention's task. — 
Personnel. — Failure to agree. — Reports. — Sinn 
Fein and the General Election. — Note by two 
members of the Irish Convention. 

CHAPTER VIII.— The Irish Recruiting Council. . . 147 

Patriotic effort to ward off conscription. — Arduous 
work of the Council. — Newspaper accounts of two 
meetings in the Sligo Area. — Reasons for the fail- 
ure of the Council to attain their goal. — Bishop 
Dowse on Ireland's Lost Opportunity. 

CHAPTER IX.— A Solution 172 

Present state: Prosperous, but unsettled — Exports 
and Imports. — Bank deposits. — Fishing returns. — 
Changing conditions. — Sergeant Sullivan, K. C, on 
lawlessness, and his appeal against crime. — Set- 
tlement desirable. — Unionists and Partition. — The 



y 



CONTENTS 



PAGE 

Centre Party. — Irish Reconstruction Association. 
— Summary. — Proposed solution : Improvement 
of national education. — No religious education dur- 
ing school hours. — Unity, the most desirable asset. 
— Railway improvement. — Government co-opera- 
tion to be given generously. — A Port in the West. — 
A Federal Parliament, for England, Scotland, 
Wales and Ireland, with suitable safeguards for 
the Irish Provinces, the best plan today. — General 
Gough on conciliation. — The New Bill. 

APPENDIX.— War Time Addresses 188 

Addresses by the author and distinguished Irish- 
men, on the War and Ireland's duty, at Schull. — 
The Palace Theatre, Cork. — Mallow. — Tullamore. 
— The Mansion House, Dublin. — Ballymena. — 
Rathfriland. — Sligo and Ballymote. — The Recruit- 
ing Council's acknowledgment. 




INTRODUCTORY 

Reasons for writing. — A talk in the South, which led to 
others elsewhere. — A word from the late Colonel Roosevelt. 

HORTLY before leaving Ireland, where 
I had spent several months, chiefly in go- 
ing throughout the land telling the people 
of America's part in the great war, a 
friend suggested that, considering I had traveled in 
all quarters of the country and had met leading men 
in almost every walk of life, of all kinds of political 
affiliation and religious belief, as far apart as the 
Lord Mayor of Belfast and the Lord Mayor of Cork, 
and the Archbishop of Dublin and the Roman Catho- 
lic Bishop of Cork, and had heard their views and 
aspirations, man to man, my impressions of Ireland 
and the War should be put in print and placed on the 
market. The suggestion took me by surprise, as the 
idea of writing on so fascinating a subject had never 
occurred to my mind; but, after some consideration, 
I decided to accede to my friend's request, in the hope 
that my effort may help Ireland toward her destiny, 
and also help some people to a better understanding 
of Ireland. 

It may not be amiss to state here that, my visit to 
Ireland was not the outcome of a desire for a holiday 
in foreign parts during the war. Every loyal Ameri- 



10 THE IRISH TANGLE 



can abstained, as far as possible, from holiday-mak- 
ing during the time the country was bending her 
efforts toward bringing the war to a speedy and suc- 
cessful end. In view of the public lectures that I 
gave, to gatherings as small as sixty and as large as 
five thousand, some of which were generously re- 
ported in the Irish newspapers, and some in the Eng- 
lish newspapers also, it may not be amiss to state that 
I did not go to Ireland as a propagandist, nor had 
I official relations with either the American or the 
British Government. Personal reasons, which would 
be of no interest to the reader, were entirely respon- 
sible; and I shall always feel grateful to all my 
friends who helped to make the way easy for me, and 
to the good people of Ireland for their kindly wel- 
come and unfailing courtesy during my stay among 
them. 

After deciding to go to Ireland, I thought it would 
be well to take over some views on war preparation in 
America, to be used when telling my friends here and 
there in Ireland of America's part in the War. 
Through the kindness of the Reverend George B. Fair- 
brother, M.A., Rector of Schull, a lecture was given 
in that town soon after my arrival in Ireland, which 
was listened to with great attention by a large gather- 
ing of people of various political leanings. This 
meeting led to others in different parts of the coun- 
try; and, no matter where I spoke in public, the peo- 
ple showed a deep interest in what I told them and 
voiced their approval unmistakably. In the ap- 



AND A WAY OUT 11 

pendix will be found accounts of several meetings, 
as they appeared in the daily press. I add, at this 
point, a letter that was sent to me in Ireland by a man 
who was much interested in Ireland's welfare and 
whom I had the honor of knowing personally, our 
great American, the late Theodore Roosevelt. This 
letter was read at many meetings, and appeared in 
several newspapers in Ireland and England: 



"New York, April 12, 1918. 

My Dear Dr. Johnson: 

I trust that you will have a most useful as well as 
a most pleasant trip in Ireland. There is an old and 
long standing friendship between the people of Ire- 
land and the people of the United States. I hope you 
will set before them the fact that the United States 
has entered this war, partly of course because of in- 
tolerable grievances of our own against Germany, 
but also as part of the great fight for justice and 
liberty against the most brutal militaristic despotism 
of modern times. America entered the war very 
late and I sincerely wish that she had undertaken her 
task two years before she did. But our people are 
now waked up and are beginning to bend with 
efficiency their enormous energy and power to the 
task before them: and they will never give in. I hope 
you will say to the people of Ireland whom you may 



12 THE IRISH TANGLE 

meet, that America's one desire is for peace and for a 
good understanding between nations and for securing 
the right of every well-behaved people, great or 
small, to live unmolested by others, so long as it does 
not molest others; and the test of our friendship in 
the future for any nation should be that nation's atti- 
tude in this war. 

Faithfully yours, 

Theodore Roosevelt. 
Rev. Thomas C. Johnson, 
Church of the Holy Spirit, 

Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, N. Y." 



AND A WAY OUT 13 




CHAPTER I 

From New York to Ireland in War-Time 

Distinguished passengers. — Life on board ship. — Army 
officers and men. — A submarine scare. — At Liverpool. — War- 
marks, and the British spirit. — Holyhead to Dublin. — Eng- 
land and Ireland. — A contrast. 

|ANY distinguished people were on board 
the S.S. Cedric, Captain Carter, on which 
the writer traveled, including about one 
hundred officers and three thousand men 
of the United States Army, the Archbishop of York 
and his chaplain. Sir Ernest Shackleton, an English 
Labor Commission — comprising Charles Duncan, 
M.P., and Messrs. Appleton, Mosses and Butterworth 
— who made life on board so pleasant and interesting 
that the thirteen days occupied in the voyage passed 
by quickly. Precaution and vigilance obtained all 
the way. Before leaving port the military left the 
promenade decks, and remained inside until the ship 
had got well out to sea. After sunset all port holes 
were closed and remained so until sunrise. Lights 
were not visible from the outside; and a large guard 
was constantly on duty. 

The usual ship-games were played during the day, 
and at night those on board were treated frequently 
to a concert or lecture. In the Regiment and the 



14 THE IRISH TANGLE 

Machine Gun Company were many able musicians, 
who generously contributed of their talents and time 
to various concerts and entertainments. The Arch- 
bishop of York, who had done so much during his 
all-too-short tour of America, toward strengthening 
the bond of unity between the British Empire and 
America, gave a very impressive lecture on the war, 
the part that America would have an opportunity to 
take, and the importance of the standards which those 
who were then going to France should set for their 
fellows who were to come later. On Sunday his 
Grace preached on the text, "Keep that which is com- 
mitted to thy trust," to a large gathering of men who 
crowded round to hear his helpful words of encour- 
agement and advice. His Grace, who was very pop- 
ular among the passengers, seemed highly pleased 
with the speed and determination with which America 
was preparing to render further assistance in the war; 
but he felt somewhat perturbed that he should have 
to remain so long on board ship without any infor- 
mation from the front, at a time when "the destinies 
of the Empire were in the balance." A lecture was 
given by Sir Ernest Shackleton on his Trans- Antarctic 
Expedition of 1914-1916, in connection with which 
he showed a book of photographs illustrating various 
incidents of the undertaking. The lecturer was loud 
in his praise of the men who had accompanied him, 
many of whom were Irish, and paid special tribute to 
their unswerving loyalty and dauntless courage. He 
also told how he had offered his ship and men to the 



AND A WAY OUT 15 

Government at the outbreak of the war, and of their 
declination of his offer, preferring that he should go 
on with the expedition. 

The two colonels in charge of the Regiment and 
the Gun Company, the other officers, and the men 
under their command were of the finest calibre, of 
whom America had every reason to be proud. Dur- 
ing the day the officers had schools of instruction in 
military tactics and strategy, and all seemed anxious 
to become more proficient and to improve the time 
afforded by the voyage. The Regimental Colonel 
showed decided interest in the welfare of his men, 
and paid daily visits to all parts of the ship to see 
that they were as comfortably cared for as possible. 
Needless to say that he was fully appreciated by 
those under him; and that he held the confidence, 
respect and affection of all. The Colonel in charge 
of the Gun Company was extremely popular with his 
men, a teacher and leader of the first order, whose 
face and bearing were an index to his sterling char- 
acter. No wonder that the American soldier loves 
his leaders and is willing to do anything for them, 
when they are made of such material. The Medical 
Officers, too, were men who never spared themselves 
throughout the voyage. Medical inspection took 
place every day; but this did not end the work of those 
consecrated gentlemen, who were always on duty, and 
took a much deeper interest in the men's welfare than 
that which is called "official." 

Boat drill was an everyday occurrence. When the 



16 THE IRISH TANGLE 

whistle blew, officers, men and civilians marched to 
their boat stations, each one with his life preserver 
ready to man his allotted boat or raft. Throughout 
the voyage life preservers were worn; and while it 
took a few days to get accustomed to these awkward 
safeguards, yet, before the end of the trip they were 
easily carried and seemed to cause little discomfort. 
The twelve ships in the convoy, which carried thirty 
thousand troops, were carefully escorted. In the sub- 
marine zone British destroyers did splendid work, 
dashing hither and thither and thoroughly scouring 
a vast area as the ships moved along. The results of 
destruction wrought by submarines appeared on the 
ocean as we neared our destination; and on one occa- 
sion a submarine caused some excitement among 
those in the convoy. Two destroyers went to investi- 
gate, and in due time returned with a reassuring 
report. Apart from this affair the journey was rather 
uneventful; and, as the weather was good, only slight 
inconvenience was experienced by the rather lengthy 
crossing. 

Liverpool was reached on Sunday morning, April 
28th. The first sight that the writer beheld was an 
American ambulance, and the second sight was a 
German ship in Allied war paint flying the American 
flag. This ship had brought a large number of Ameri- 
can troops over, and was preparing to return and con- 
tinue in that useful service. The American am- 
bulance, and the German ship as an American trans- 
port, impressed on all the fact already known, that 



AND A WAY OUT 17 

America was going on with the business of the war 
in a thorough-going fashion. The men disembarked, 
and the civilians made the acquaintance of the British 
Immigration Authorities — who were most courteous 
in their duties — and passed on to the Custom House 
Officials, who did their part in record time. 

In Liverpool the writer had twelve hours to wait 
for a train to Holyhead, from which port the Kings- 
town boat sailed. In those twelve hours he secured 
a great deal of enlightenment on the war and its 
effects. The streets were filled with wounded and 
disabled soldiers, and any men on the streets, not 
wearing service or hospital uniforms, were obviously 
too old for military service or else wore the "honor- 
ably discharged" badge. The whole atmosphere was 
sombre; and all, men and women alike, showed un- 
mistakable signs of a long strain and a severe regi- 
men. A soldier passed by wearing a new kind of 
badge, and, upon inquiring its meaning the writer 
was informed that he was one of England's "Con- 
temptibles" — one of those noble fellows who rushed 
to service at the opening of the war — ^whom the Ger- 
man Emperor characterized as "Contemptible." He 
should rather have called that army, if he had had any 
prophetic vision, "Immortal," for they have surely 
won that title by their patriotism, courage, and self- 
sacrifice. They, truly, "saved the day." The shops 
of course were closed; but the windows displayed 
large signs of "Controlled" goods — and they were 
"Controlled." In one of the large hotels where he 



18 THE IRISH TANGLE 

went for luncheon, the writer was requested to pro- 
duce his meat card, his sugar card, and his butter 
card, of which he knew nothing. A luncheon with- 
out these luxuries was however served, and while 
making the acquaintance of the "war bread," dif- 
ferent from anything previously seen or imagined, 
the advice often given by the diligent steward, Mac, 
on board ship occurred to his mind. As the good 
steward served the hot rolls daily he was wont to 
remark, "eat plenty of these now, for you won't see 
white bread again until you make the return journey.'' 
Mac was right; even in Ireland real old-time white 
bread was not offered in the hotel fare. Those hours 
Spent in Liverpool revealed what war really meant; 
and the writer felt impressed with the hardships and 
sorrows which it entailed. It is all right to talk of war 
from afar, to read in the news of the deaths and 
other casualties, to note the restrictions in living and 
to feel for the sufferers; but it is quite a different 
thing to feel the oppressive atmosphere of war, to 
see its deadly ravages and disabling results, to become 
amenable to its restrictions, and to listen to the words 
of the bereaved. In America, although nearly all 
thought that they were carrying a great part of the 
burden of the war in every sense, in reality they knew 
little about it, nor did they experience the anguish and 
realize its meaning until their own men had paid the 
great price, and the casualty lists had appeared, and 
the ships had brought home to their shores the sick 
and the disabled. "The British Empire and the 



AND A WAY OUT 19 

Allies," as the Archbishop of York put it in his ser- 
mon on board ship, "had been fighting for their ex- 
istence for four years, and they were tired." They 
were tired, but not discouraged; they were suffering, 
but not desirous of ceasing until they could proclaim 
victory to the world. Among all the returned troops 
from the front, the wounded and the disabled, as well 
as the whole, with whom the writer talked in England 
and Ireland, he never met one who did not desire to 
return, and give his life if necessary for the cause of 
freedom. In traveling from Belfast to Enniskillen 
one day he met a soldier who had been wounded five 
times. Three times he had been on leave in order to 
recuperate, and three times he had returned to the 
front. The last leave, as the result of a very badly 
crushed foot, was to him a great strain, because the 
doctor had informed him that his return to France 
was not probable. "I'm drawing a good pension," 
said he, "but I'd give it all for another day in the 
trenches. It isn't fair treatment, to keep me here." 
The journey from Liverpool to Holyhead and 
Kingstown was made without any particular incident, 
although the four hours spent crossing the Irish Sea 
were rather anxious ones, and as the night was bright 
and fine, most of those on board remained on deck 
holding or wearing life preservers. Some passengers, 
who had experienced the working of the drastic food 
laws in England, were surprised to find such a won- 
derful display of meats and food as appeared in the 
dining-room of the mail boat and lost no time in 



20 THE IRISH TANGLE 

ordering whatever they desired, for food cards were 
not necessary there. 

As soon as Ireland was reached, it was evident that 
the country was not affected by the war in the same 
way that England was. In Ireland, men were to be 
seen everywhere; strong, young, able-bodied men — 
the very opposite was true of England. In Ireland, 
food was plentiful, everything offered for sale as 
heretofore — except sugar, which could not be secured 
in large quantities, as each one was supposed to have 
only half-a-pound per week. In Ireland the people 
showed every sign of prosperity; in England the 
people seemed impoverished. In Ireland the fairs, 
races, market days, cattle shows and horse shows were 
kept; in England there was none of that. It is true, as 
appears elsewhere, that many in Ireland kept the 
meatless days and the wheatless days with England, 
and abstained from pleasure-making, and worked 
hard for the success of the war; but a vast majority 
seemed to have little interest in the war beyond buy- 
ing and selling, and the prosperity it brought them. 
Judging from exterior conditions, and forgetting the 
war for a moment, it seemed as if England and Ire- 
land had exchanged conditions. The Ireland of by- 
gone years was certainly a pitiful sight; hungry, cold 
and naked, with little hope for better days, and strug- 
gling against most discouraging forces. The houses, 
were, generally speaking, of the poorest order, the 
lands were uncultivated for the most part, and un- 
cared for, the cattle and horses were of inferior 



AND A WAY OUT 21 

breeds, the schools were few and far between, and the 
landlords were very punctilious in exacting the pound 
of flesh. The Ireland of 1918 presented a very dif- 
ferent appearance; a greater change in the external 
conditions of any people has never taken place within 
thirty years. The people were well fed, well clothed, 
and well housed. They seemed self-satisfied and 
prosperous, and many of them were making large 
sums of money as a result of the war. Their farms 
were very productive and well-cared for, their cattle 
were of the best breeds, and their houses which were 
generally slated were comfortable and suitably fur- 
nished. Labor was well paid, though hard to secure; 
and many farmers had recently become owners of 
the land for which they had paid annual rent in by- 
gone years. Instead of using the old-time means of 
conveyance, the average farmer (usually drove to 
town in a pony trap or carriage of some sort. Yes, 
Ireland appeared exceedingly prosperous: and what 
wonder if, within the next year or two, the stream of 
immigration shall be turned in that direction. No 
longer can the aged laborer say in excuse for his 
poverty in Ireland, as one stated to the writer some 
years ago when asking assistance, "I've spent all my 
time working my life out to keep my life in." Pros- 
perity is not peculiar to any particular part of Ire- 
land to-day, but characterizes the whole land — North, 
South, East and West. 



22 THE IRISH TANGLE 




CHAPTER II 
Early Events of Great Importance 

Ireland invaded. — Folk-lore, legend, and authentic history. — 
Troubles at home. — Finn MacCool. — Saint Patrick, and other 
Saints and Missionaries. — Art and literature. — Classes of 
society. — The Brehon Law. — The Danish invasion. — Malacki 
and Brian. — Internal strife. — Roderick O'Connor, Supreme 
King. 

flHE account of a conversation between two 
Irishmen in New York, seems to have a 
decided moral when applied to Ireland. 
The elder brother, who had been in 
America less than one year, when asked by the 
younger who had just arrived from the old sod, 
"Pat, how do you like this country of yours?" replied, 
"Well, this is a fine country, and it would be a lot 
better but for them foreigners!" Would it? Pat 
forgot that the foreigners had for many years been 
the mainstay of his adopted land, and that his old 
country had done much toward making the greatest 
democracy of the world what it is to-day. America 
is a land of foreigners, invaders, immigrants; and 
in this respect at least strongly resembles Ireland. 

Foreigners have made America what it is, a nation 
gathered from all nations in the world; and who dare 
controvert that, foreigners have made Ireland what 



AND A WAY OUT 23 

it is. We know something of the ancient people of 
America, some of whose descendants are very much 
in evidence even in our own time; but of the ancient 
people of Ireland, if there were any, before the days 
of invasion or immigration we know nothing. We do 
know, however, that, from earliest accounts, Ireland 
has been an attractive land to many nations, and that 
expedition after expedition has arrived at her shores 
set upon no better intent than to invade, to plunder, 
and to conquer. Some of those early invaders and 
their descendants no doubt survived the oppression 
and tyranny of those who came after them as in- 
vaders, and through intermarriage with them became 
an integral part of the composite body known as the 
Irish. If the history of the Roman Empire has been 
characterized by a celebrated historian as that of a 
"Decline and Fall," surely it will not seem amiss to 
those who are at all familiar with the vicissitudes of 
Irish history to describe it as the history of "Foreign 
Invasion and Internal Strife." 

Like most ancient nations, Ireland has an abun- 
dance of folk-lore, folk songs and annals which keep 
alive the ancient traditions and recall the great 
achievements of the past. From these an insight may 
be had into the early life and customs of a people 
who are so different from all others, and by these an 
understanding and appreciation may be obtained of 
the characteristics usually evidenced in the Irish 
people. 

Legend states that in very ancient times Ireland 



24 THE IRISH TANGLE 

was invaded or colonized, in rather rapid succession, 
by no less than five peoples. Parthalon of Greece led 
one thousand men thither, but at the end of three hun- 
dred years a plague set in that almost wiped out their 
descendants. Nemid of Scythia also came, and he 
too, and many of his followers, died of plague. Next 
came the Firbolgs, under the guidance of the sons of 
Dela, who divided the country into five parts — Ulster, 
Leinster, Connaught and the two Munsters. The 
Dedannans, who came next, decided to stay, and so 
burned their ships. No sooner had they landed than 
they set out to conquer the Firbolgs, who, like them- 
selves, had come from Greece, and at the end of a 
four days' fight won a victory for which in later ages 
they were deified — and became the Shee or fairies so 
often mentioned in Irish story and song. The Mile- 
sians came from Scythia, and, after spending some 
time in Egypt and Europe, set sail from Spain; but 
their fleet suffered great loss as the result of violent 
storms off the Irish coast. A small number survived 
who gave battle to the Dedannans, and after securing 
victory their leaders divided Ireland into three parts 
among themselves. 

We come next to a period which brings in what the 
Annals of Tigemack O'Breen state to be the begin- 
ning of authentic Irish history. The queen of the 
king of Ulster, three hundred years before Christ, 
built the palace of Emain, which for six hundred 
years remained the residence of the kings of Ulster. 
The place where this palace was built is now called 



AND A WAY OUT 25 

Navan Fort, two miles west of Armagh. Croghan Fort, 
in Roscommon, which also antedates Christianity, was 
built as a residence of the kings of Connaught. The 
discord in the different parts of Ireland soon became 
very great, and the leaders of the Milesians had no 
small trouble in keeping the descendants of those 
whom they had overcome in subjection. Tuathal, who 
ruled toward the end of the first century, believed that 
he had found a cure for all trouble and disaffection 
among the people, when he suggested a monarch for 
all Ireland, and proceeded to put his cure into effect 
by cutting a little off from each of the existing Prov- 
inces and creating from these parts a new Province, 
the Province of Meath, which should become the 
estate of the Supreme King of Ireland. It was a 
grand idea; but the people even in those days would 
not stay "put," and very soon Ireland was divided 
into two parts. A natural line of sandhills, from 
Dublin across to Galway, was decided on as the neu- 
tral ground between Conn, the king of the Northern 
part, and Mow, the king of the Southern part. 

Cormac, the grandson of Conn, king of Northern 
Ireland, founded colleges for military science, his- 
tory, literature and law. In his time the Feena, or 
Volunteers as we would call them today, came into 
prominence, and were commanded by the famous 
Finn MacCool, son-in-law of Cormac. The great 
deeds of Finn, as well as other Bardic Romances, are 
set forth by T. W. Rolleston, in his book — The High 
Deeds of Finn. The Feena rebelled in the next reign, 



26 THE IRISH TANGLE 

but were defeated ignominiously. Much is written 
of the Niall or Neill family from the end of the 
fourth century onward in Irish history. The Scots 
of Ireland and their neighbors, the Picts of Scotland, 
whether from natural propensity or desire for plun- 
der, were often in those days found on marauding 
expeditions to Britain and Gaul, and were greatly 
feared by the natives of those lands. The leader of 
the most daring of these invasions was Niall, who, 
among a number of other captives, brought St. Pat- 
rick to Ireland. Niall, however, was killed while on 
one of those famous invasions on the banks of the 
river Loire; but his successor — Dathi — the last king 
of pagan Ireland, carried on the invasion of foreign 
lands and was eventually killed by lightning near the 
Alps. 

The life of Saint Patrick is generally supposed to 
have influenced the religious bent of the people of 
Ireland only, but in reality his influence as a mis- 
sionary has had a great eff^ect in furthering the cause 
of Christianity in almost every country. Bom about 
the year 387 of Christian parents, and reared until 
he attained the age of sixteen in religious surround- 
ings, the future patron Saint of Ireland was brought 
a captive to Dalriada, now County Antrim, where he 
spent seven years as a bond servant. After escaping 
from captivity, he visited Southern Gaul, came under 
the influence of St. Martin of Tours, and studied at 
Auxerre and Lerins. About the year 432 — having 
spent twenty years preparing for his work, and after 



AND A WAY OUT 27 

ordination to the Diaconate — ^he set his face with 
twelve companions for Ireland's shore, to carry on 
the work which his predecessor, Palladius, who 
had been sent to Ireland by Pope Celestine, had 
relinquished. 

It is generally believed that the religion of the 
Druids had been long taught and practised in Ireland, 
before the dawn of Christianity; and to this day huge 
stone altars are pointed out in different parts of the 
country on which the Druids offered their sacrifices. 
Caesar stated that, "The Druids act in all sacred 
matters; they attend to the sacrifices which are of- 
fered either by the tribe in general or by individuals, 
and answer all questions concerning religion; they 
decide in all controversies, whether public or private, 
and they judge all cases. They assign both rewards 
and punishments, and whoever refuses to abide by 
their sentence is excommunicated. They are exempt 
from service in war, and from the payment of taxes; 
they have also many other immunities." In their 
secret teaching, they taught belief in one God, but 
the popular teaching included a number of gods, and 
that the rivers, lakes, trees, mountains had their own 
divinities. They taught the immortality of the soul; 
and their sacrifices on extraordinary occasions in- 
cluded human beings. Where this religion originated 
we do not know, but some suppose that it came from 
India. 

In Ireland when Saint Patrick took up his work, 
which extended over thirty-three years, Christianity 



28 THE IRISH TANGLE 

was known to the people. How it was brought there, 
whether by Apostles, prisoners, marauders or sol- 
diers, we have no definite information; but one thing 
is certain, gatherings of Christians had been estab- 
lished there before Saint Patrick's time. Among the 
people of Ireland Saint Patrick moved freely, preach- 
ing, teaching, and establishing churches and schools 
of instruction. His ministry was phenomenally suc- 
cessful; and the celerity of his success may be 
accounted for in part that he appealed first to the 
kings, chiefs, and nobles. Wherever he appeared the 
people crowded around to hear his words; and while 
his journey ings were not always pleasant nor his 
words productive of the results he sought, yet his 
career as a missionary left a stamp on Ireland that 
never can be effaced, a stamp that has caused the 
country to be characterized and thought of as "A 
country of saints and scholars." Of course, the work 
of Saint Patrick did not reach to every part of the 
field of his labors; but most of the country testified 
to his zeal and success through converts, missionaries 
and churches, when on the 17th of March, 465, he 
departed this life. His death brought forth the deep- 
est sorrow among the people, who, after keeping his 
obsequies for twelve days and nights, with loving 
care laid his body to rest at Dun-da-leth-glas, the 
ancient residence of the Princess Ulidia, now known 
as Downpatrick. 

After the death of Saint Patrick the work to which 
he had given his life went on apace, and churches. 



AND A WAY OUT 29 

monasteries and convents were soon to be found 
throughout Ireland. Saint Bridget of Kildare, bom 
about 455, became an ardent missionary early in 
life. Before her twenty-fifth year she had founded 
convents in many parts of Ireland; and, eventually, 
she built her cell, the beginning of a famous nunnery, 
under a great oak tree from which the ancient 
Cathedral of Kildare received its name — Kill-dare, 
the church of the oak. 

Columba, the third of Ireland's Patron Saints, was 
bom in 521 of a noble family near the mountains of 
Donegal, and at an early age was sent to the monastic 
school of Saint Finian of Clonard, where he evinced 
marked ability as a scholar; and after his ordination, 
he gave himself up heart and soul to the work of the 
church. In the year 546 he built Derry Monastery, 
and later founded numerous churches and monas- 
teries throughout the country — including Kells, 
Swords, and Durrow in King's County. About the 
year 563 — ninety-eight years after the death of Saint 
Patrick — he went on a mission to lona, off the west 
coast of Scotland, where he founded the famous mon- 
astery of that name. It might be well to state here, 
parenthetically, that about sixty years before a chief- 
tain of the house of Ere, of the Irish Dalriado, had 
crossed over to the coast of Argylesline and founded 
the kingdom of Dalriada or Scotia there; and thus 
the name Scotia or Scotland, which until the year 
1,000 belonged to Ireland, was first applied to Scot- 
land and gradually appropriated by the people of 



30 THE IRISH TANGLE 

that land. Among the Picts, as among the Irish, 
Saint Columba's ministry was most successful, and 
at the close of his mission, which extended from sea 
to sea, many churches were to be seen testifying to 
his abundant labors. It is, however, in connection 
with the monastery at lona, the influence of which 
has penetrated into all the world, that this saint is 
chiefly thought of. The rules of this monastery re- 
quired obedience, humility, and chastity; and the 
day was spent in devotions, reading, writing and man- 
ual labor. The members of the house were expert 
writers and illuminators, and at this time the Irish 
had become famous in calligraphy. It is stated that 
Saint Columba wrote the Book of Kells and the Book 
of Durrow, so well known for their beautiful pen- 
manship and artistic ornamentation. From lona 
missionaries went to the English, the Germans, the 
French, the Italians, and the Swiss, evangelizing and 
planting monasteries and churches in all parts. Irish- 
men became not only patron saints in their own land, 
but also in almost every part of the Continent. Saint 
Aidan of Northumbria, Saint Fursa of Peronne, Saint 
Dympna of Gheel, Saint Columbanus of Bibbio, Saint 
Gall, of the town called by his name, Saint Virgil of 
Salisbury, Saint Fridolin of Seckingen, Saint Kilian 
of Francolia are names, revered and honored, that 
bear testimony to the wide scope and influence of 
Irish missionary eff"ort. To the schools in Ireland, 
which were accounted the most learned among the 
people of Europe, came kings, princes and others 



AND A WAY OUT 31 

from Northumbria, France, Britain, Germany and 
Egypt. Mr. Lecky did not overstate the matter when 
he wrote that, "England owed a great deal of her 
Christianity to Irish monks," for the record of the 
Council of Whitby, held in 664, when the two 
branches of the Church, the Celtic and the Roman, 
each with its different customs, but holding a common 
faith and order, met and squared their differences, 
is abiding testimony to the labor and success of Irish 
missionaries in England. 

Everywhere the Irish missionaries went they estab- 
lished schools in which were taught various kinds of 
art, including metal work, sculpture, penmanship, and 
building — in which Ireland led. The ancient art of 
adorning all kinds of metal was carried on and im- 
pEoved upon up to the time of the Norman invasion. 
Three wonderful specimens of the excellence of that 
workmanship are the Cross of Cong, the Ardagh 
Chalice, and the Tara Brooch, to be seen in the 
National Museum, Dublin. The art of penmanship 
and ornamentation brought to the highest standard, 
may be seen in the work of the Book of Kells — so 
called because it had been in the keeping of Kells for 
many centuries. Although one capital letter covers 
almost an entire page, yet a magnifying glass is neces- 
sary to follow the delicate intricacies of the pattern. 
The Book of Armagh, another piece of work beauti- 
fully executed, is, together with the Book of Kells, 
in Trinity College, Dublin. It is chiefly written in 
Latin, and contains a life of Saint Patrick, the New 



32 THE IRISH TANGLE 

Testament, Saint Patrick's Confession, and an entry 
made by King Brian Boru in 1004, when he visited 
Armagh, confirming the primacy of the See of 
Armagh. 

The Round Towers of Ireland date from pre- 
Christian times and have a beauty all their own. The 
quadrangular churches built of wood and also of 
stone, date from the time of Saint Patrick. With the 
coming of the Normans, new ideas in building were 
introduced, and the Irish lost no time in appropriat- 
ing the best designs. Ruins of abbeys throughout 
Ireland today testify to the great ability and skill of 
those who erected these beautiful buildings. Many 
of the Celtic crosses that remain intact are beauti- 
fully ornamented, and some depict events recorded 
in sacred history. 

From the time of Saint Patrick, the Irish people 
wrote everything concerning their history and time — 
that appeared to them of importance. These records 
were often kept in monasteries and other places of 
learning, and must have amounted to a large and 
valuable collection before the Danish and Anglo- 
Norman invasions, when many of these valauble 
writings were either destroyed or carried out of the 
country. In the museums and libraries of London 
and Oxford, as well as in Dublin, may be found some 
of them. The Royal Irish Academy has the oldest of 
these writings, the Lebar-na-heera, which contains a 
number of prose tales, and an elegy on Saint Colum- 
kille, composed by Dalian Fogaill about 592. The 



AND A WAY OUT 33 

Book of Leinster, written in 1160, is in Trinity Col- 
lege, and contains one thousand items of prose, poetry 
and historical accounts. Other interesting books in 
Ireland are the Book of Ballymote, written in 1391, 
in which, among other things, is a copy of the book of 
"Invasions" of Ireland; the Book of Lecan, written 
at Lecan, County Sligo, about 1390, is also in the 
keeping of Trinity College. 

The annals, histories and genealogies of Ireland 
are extremely interesting. Among the annals may be 
recorded the Annals of Innisfallen, compiled about 
1215; the Annals of Ulster, compiled 1498; the An- 
nals of Connaught, compiled in 1224; Chronicle of 
the Scots, compiled in 1135, and the Annals of the 
Four Masters, compiled in 1132. The first history of 
Ireland was written in the seventeenth century as the 
Forus Feasa Erin, by Dr. Geoffrey Keating. Many of 
the genealogies of the principal families in Ireland 
are preserved in the books of Leinster, Lecan, and 
Ballymote. A book of genealogies was compiled be- 
tween 1650 and 1666 by Duald MacFirbis. 

The people of Ireland have ever been noted for 
their fondness of music. From monastery and con- 
vent, from school and college, from the humblest 
home as well as from the king's residence, the strains 
of music went forth in every age. Giraldus Cam- 
brensis bore testimony to the harper's skill in these 
words: "They are incomparably more skillful than 
any other nation I have ever seen. For their manner 
of playing on these instruments, unlike that of the 



34 THE IRISH TANGLE 

Britons to which I am accustomed is not slow and 
harsh, but lively and rapid, while the melody is both 
sweet and sprightly." In foreign lands Irish music 
teachers were often found; and the fame of Saint 
Gall's, as a conservatory of music in the ninth cen- 
tury, was due to the able teaching of the Irishman 
Marcellus. 

From the earliest times the inhabitants of Ireland 
were divided into five classes — kings, nobles, free- 
men with property, freemen without property, and the 
others, who were again divided into various sections. 
The first group included the family proper; the next 
group, the Sept, which included relatives; the next 
group, the Clan, included those who were descended 
from one ancestor; and the other group, the Tribe, 
included those of separate Clans or Septs. These 
were governed by chiefs. Then there came sub- 
kingdoms, then there were the five provinces, ruled 
by five kings, and finally one kingdom, ruled by the 
Ardi or supreme king. 

Ireland, so well organized, was not without her law 
and judges. The judges were called Brehons and 
the law the Brehon Law. These judges were learned 
men, and took great pains to administer their office 
faithfully. If a Brehon delivered an unfair judg- 
ment he was open to punishment, and for this reason, 
also, he was usually anxious to give fair and impar- 
tial judgments. The laws by which judgment was 
meted out were preserved in volumes. Two of these 
volumes are of special interest: the Senchus Mor, 



AND A WAY OUT 35 

covering civil law, and the Book of Acaill, covering 
criminal law and personal injuries. Through the in- 
terest of Saint Patrick, King Laeghaire had a com- 
mittee of nine distinguished persons revise the laws 
of Ireland. 

From the beginning of the Danish invasion early 
in the ninth century until the famous battle of Clon- 
tarf on Good Friday, April 23, 1014, the whole of 
Ireland was in a constant state of turmoil and war — 
with only two exceptions of forty-year periods. Nat- 
urally, the high state of civilization and order hitherto 
reached suffered greatly, and the whole island be- 
came, in the language of the Four Masters, "a trem- 
bling sod." The monasteries, convents, schools, col- 
leges and churches, as well as the petty kingdoms 
fell from the high state of efficiency which they had 
attained; and through plunder, disorder and strife 
lost much of their ancient heritage. 

The Danes, a name generally accorded to the 
people of the northwestern districts of Europe, first 
appeared along the eastern coast of Ireland as plun- 
derers, but after some expeditions of this kind came 
in larger bodies, with the intention of staying, and 
so reached farther into the country, plundering and 
destroying everything that came in their way. Under 
their leader, Turgesius, they organized a fleet and 
went northward, entering Lough Neagh and Lough 
Ree, and eventually occupied Armagh, Leinster and 
Connaught. 

The Irish failure in dealing with these, in quick 



36 THE IRISH TANGLE 

time and definitely, was due in a large measure to 
their characteristic difficulty — lack of unity and 
effort — and, although the Irish chiefs and others made 
sporadic attempts to curtail the movements and power 
of these enemies, little success attended them. 
Malacki I. and his son arrested the course of that 
foreign invasion for forty years; but during this 
period the Irish turned their attention and strength 
to wars among themselves. Neill Glunduff, Flann's 
successor, Donagh Flann's son, and Murkertagh, son 
of Neill Glunduff — of Leathercoat fame — harassed 
the Danes from time to time; but Malacki II, who 
became king in 980, won the greatest victory over 
them at Tara and Dublin and carried off some valu- 
able Danish treasure. It was of him that Moore wrote, 
"When Malacki wore the collar of gold that he won 
from her proud invader." Mahon, king of Thomond, 
and his brother Brian carried on a guerrilla warfare 
against the invaders. By way of reprisal, Ivar, king 
of the Southern Danes, aided by two Irish kings, 
Molloy of Desmond and Donovan of Hy Carbery, 
marched on Thomond, but the Dalcassian chiefs and 
Mahon soon overcame them. In another war of this 
kind Mahon was slain, and his brother Brian became 
king in his stead. Brian now waged a war of retri- 
bution, and after destroying the allied enemy, 
referred to above, became king of all Munster. 

Brian's success in overcoming his enemies and ex- 
tending his territory and sway soon aroused the 
jealousy of the King of Ireland, Malacki, and after a 



AND A WAY OUT 37 

peace agreement, which entailed the dividing of Ire- 
land between them, Malacki became king of Leth 
Conn, and Brian king of Leth Mow. After a revolt 
of Mailmora, king of Leinster, and his subsequent 
defeat, Brian decided to treat the solemn agreement 
with Malacki as a "scrap of paper," and began to 
make an alliance with the old enemy in order to make 
sure of his success. His matrimonial alliances must 
be interesting to men today — in view of later history. 
He married Gormlaith, mother of Sitric, king of the 
Dublin Danes, sister of the king of Leinster, and gave 
his own daughter to Sitric as his wife. Malacki's 
land was soon invaded; he made peace, and returned 
to his old kingdom Meath, after which the land had 
comparative peace for forty years. 

The Danes, however, were not satisfied and were 
watching for an opportunity to assert themselves and 
gain if possible the sovereignty of Ireland. At length 
the chance came, when Malimora, king of Leinster, 
decided to be avenged of Brian, who had recently dis- 
carded his sister Gormlaith, and brought together as 
allies O'Neill, king of Ulster, O'Ruarc, prince of 
Brefney, and leaders from Carbery, Kildare. These 
first attacked Malacki, who was not able to resist 
them, and he called Brian to help him. Brian and 
his son responded, and moved to Kilmainham to 
besiege Dublin, but the effort failed. 

The Danes now decided to push the test; and Gorm- 
laith directed her son Sitric to look for aid abroad. 
He visited the Orkneys and the Isle of Man and re- 



38 THE IRISH TANGLE 

ceived the aid he required; and from the Hebrides, 
Shetlands, France, Germany and Scandinavia sailed 
shiploads of warriors for Dublin Bay. Brian, mus- 
tering his forces on March 17th and moving to Kil- 
mainham, set fire to the Danish districts along the 
coast. News that the enemy intended to attack on 
Good Friday was very unsavory to Brian, owing to 
the holy associations attaching to the day, yet he 
got his men together, who numbered about twenty 
thousand — as many as the enemy had in line — and 
the battle was begun. The fight was a hand-to-hand 
affair and lasted all day, during which Brian's son 
Murrogh was chief in command and remained in the 
thick of the battle with his men. Toward evening the 
Danes saw that they had lost, and ran from the battle 
pursued by the Irish, and greatly helped by Malacki's 
men, who cut off their retreat. The Irish won the 
battle, which cost them many lives, especially those 
of King Brian, his son Murrogh and his son Turlogh. 
After that day of victory and sorrow, Malacki became 
the unquestioned king of the Irish — which position he 
held until his death in 1022. 

After the battle of Clontarf and the victory over 
the foreign foe, the Irish were once more in a posi- 
tion to carry on war among themselves; and from this 
time to the Anglo-Norman invasion the country was 
in a state of disorder owing to the aspirations of dif- 
ferent kings to become the supreme rulers of Ireland. 
The long drawn out struggle of the kings, "with op- 
position," Donogh, Turlogh O'Brien, Demot Mac- 



AND A WAY OUT 39 



Mailnamo, Murkertagh O'Brien, Donall O'Loghlin, 
Turlogh O'Connor, Murkertagh O'Loghlin and 
Roderick O'Connor, was at length brought to a close 
when O'Connor acknowledged O'Loghlin's supremacy 
and sent him hostages. O'Loghlin soon died, how- 
ever, and Roderick O'Connor became the king of all 
Ireland. 



40 THE IRISH TANGLE 



CHAPTER III 
Later Invasion and Rebellion 

Dermot MacMurragh and his Foreign Allies. — Archbishop 
OToole, the peacemaker. — Henry II. distributes Ireland 
among his followers. — King Richard. — King John and the 
Irish factions.— The "English Pale." — The Braces in 
Ireland. — "Statute of Kilkenny." — Richard II. tries to stop 
rebellion.— Pariiament, 1449, and 1466.— The Imposter 
Simnel and German aid. — "Poyning's Law." — Policy of 
Henry VIII.— Edward VI.— Mary and Elizabeth.— The 
Geraldine Rebellion. — Foreign expeditions. — Desmond de- 
spoiled. — Rebellion under Hugh O'Neill, assisted by Spain. — 
Ix)rd Mountjoy's Victory. — The Plantation of Ulster. — Charles 
I. and Wentworth. — The Rebellion of 1641. — Royalist Ire- 
land and Cromwell. — James II. and William of Orange. — 
Repeal of all ofifensive laws by James. — James defeated at 
Old Bridge. — Repressive Laws. — Laws injurious to Irish 
trade. 

HE Danish invasion left Ireland in a state 
of disorder and ruin; and when the Nor- 
mans came little was attempted toward 
a real restoration, although that was 
supposedly the cause of the projected crusade 
when Henry II. secured the famous Bull of au- 
thority from Pope Hadrian IV. in 1155. In those 
days it was thought by many that all islands belonged 
to the jurisdiction of the Pope; and, in view of this, 
Henry forwarded a plea to Pope Hadrian for 
authority to go to Ireland "to enlarge the bounds of 
the Church, and to restrain the progress of vices, to 
correct the manners of the people and to plant virtue 




AND A WAY OUT 41 

among them, and to increase the Christian religion. 
To subject the people to laws, to extirpate vicious cus- 
toms, to respect the rights of the native churches, and 
to enforce the payment of Peter's pence." This 
request was approved by the Pope, as coming from 
one moved by "the ardour of faith and love of re- 
ligion;" but Henry, however, did not carry out his 
projected crusade for some time. After the lapse of 
a few years, the occasion for active interest presented 
itself when Dermot MacMurragh, who had stolen the 
wife of the prince of Brefney, Tieman O'Rourc, and 
had consequently brought O'Rourc and a large motley 
army to fight against him in Leinster, crossed the sea 
for aid, and offered to place himself and his kingdom 
under Henry's rule. To this proposition Henry 
agreed, and advised Dermot to go through England 
and France for supporters. In Bristol, Richard de 
Clare, Earl of Pembroke, later known as Strongbow, 
agreed to be one of the supporters provided Dermot 
gave him his daughter Eva in marriage, and that he 
should succeed him as king. In Saint Davids, Wales, 
Maurace Fitzgerald and Robert Fitzstephen promised 
assistance — receiving in due time Wexford and the 
adjoining districts as a consideration. With a large 
allied force Dermot attacked at Wexford, Waterford 
and Ossory, and thus aroused the interest of Roderick 
O'Connor to activity in defence of his territory. A 
peace conference took place, and a secret treaty was 
made between Dermot and Roderick to the effect that 
the foreigners should be sent home, and none brought 



42 THE IRISH TANGLE 

in the future. As the agreement between Brian and 
Malacki was treated as a "scrap of paper," so was 
this, alas, for Dermot set out almost immediately to 
become the king of Ireland, and sent to Strongbow 
to fulfil his promise. Strongbow sent Raymond Fitz- 
gerald — Raymond le Gros — with eight hundred men 
and came himself later with three thousand to Water- 
ford, where havoc characterized their work. They 
then marched to Dublin, where king Hasculf had 
rebelled. Through Archbishop Laurence O'Toole 
peace was arranged, and Hasculf and many of his 
men fled the country leaving Dermot and Strongbow 
in possession. In the next year, 1171, Dermot died, 
and Strongbow became king of Leinster. Hasculf 
MacTurkill returned, and with a great many Danes 
besieged Dublin; but he was defeated. After this 
Archbishop O'Toole tried to unite the people of Ire- 
land against their enemies, who had again entrenched 
themselves in Dublin. At this juncture Henry, who 
had become jealous of Strongbow, came to Ireland 
with ten thousand men, and the Irish kings, with few 
exceptions, hastened to submit to him, as did most of 
the princes. Roderick O'Connor also submitted, 
although he did not appear: but O'Neill of Ulster 
neither came nor sent his submission. 

Henry, after holding court in Dublin, began to 
distribute Ireland to his followers. Leinster was 
given to Strongbow, Meath to Hugh de Lacy, Ulster 
to John de Courcy, and Dublin to the people of Bris- 
tol, with de Lacy as governor — the first Viceroy of 



AND A WAY OUT 43 

Ireland — after which he returned to England. In the 
next year Strongbow became viceroy, a very difficult 
position to fill, owing to rebellions and raids among 
the Irish, the English and the Danes. 

Roderick O'Connor now found his position hard 
to maintain, and, so, sent to Henry for protection. 
By the treaty of Windsor, 1175, Roderick became 
king of Connaught and vassal of Henry, and was also 
appointed to rule the rest of Ireland, except the Eng- 
lish colony, and compel the kings and chiefs to pay 
tribute to Henry. Prince John was sent over with 
the intention of his becoming "Lord of Ireland;" but 
as a lad of nineteen, full of pranks, he gave offence 
to the Irish princes and chiefs and soon had the whole 
country in the wildest disorder, after which he was 
recalled to England, and de Courcy was appointed 
viceroy. 

After the death of Henry, his son Richard became 
king; and he intrusted the affairs of Ireland to the 
care of his brother John, who appointed de Lacy 
Viceroy in place of de Courcy. The wars among the 
kings and chiefs continued unabated ; and it was dur- 
ing this time that the chief Cahal Crouderg won his 
right to the kingdom of Connaught after subduing 
Cahal Carrach, his rival. 

In 1199 John succeeded to the English throne, and 
found Ireland if possible more disturbed than ever. 
Alliances of all kinds were formed among the kings 
and princes from time to time in order to attain their 
ends, and in these alliances the people of the English 



44 THE IRISH TANGLE 

Colony figured, too, with a result that the confusion of 
the country became more confounded. The people 
of the English towns were adopting the customs of 
their neighbours; the nobles were becoming insub- 
ordinate and establishing themselves as independent 
rulers; and anarchy was becoming the established 
rule everywhere. When King John visited Ireland, 
the insubordinate barons fled, and Cahal Crouderg 
appeared before him and made his submission. 

The part of Ireland that had been chiefly occupied 
by the English was divided into twelve counties — 
Dublin, Kildare, Meath, Louth, Carlow, Kilkenny, 
Wexford, Waterford, Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Tip- 
perary — and these districts became known as the 
"English Pale," where English law was established. 
The establishment of the "Pale" divided Ireland into 
two parts, each part was subject to a diff"erent code of 
•^ laws and customs; and the people of each part hated 
those of the other. 

After Robert Bruce's success at Bannockbum, the 
Irish invited him to send his brother over as their 
king, to which he responded by sending Edward Bruce 
with six thousand Scotchmen to Lame. Donall 
O'Neill of Ulster joined forces with them, and soon 
the North of Ireland was under the sway of the sword. 
Cruelty, disorder, murder, famine accompanied this 
eff"ort to cast the English out. Robert Bruce with an 
army of twenty thousand joined in the eff"ort to sub- 
jugate the people of the Pale, but returned to Scotland 
the next year. In 1318 Edward Bruce made his last 



AND A WAY OUT 45 

attempt to secure victory, but in the battle of Dundalk, 
with the opposing forces under Sir John Bermingham, 
he was defeated and slain. Although the Bruces 
were defeated and the object they sought unattained, 
yet the results of their expedition changed the com- 
plexion of Ireland. Ulster was practically restored 
to the old order, and clans and chiefs again came into 
possession of the land: the English people became 
more and more one with the people around them, 
even adopting their dress, language and names, and, 
as a result, have been described as "more Irish than 
the Irish themselves." 

When Edward III. succeeded his father in 1327, 
the outlook was very discouraging in Ireland, espe- 
cially owing to the defections of the English there 
and their feuds among themselves. The "black 
death" wrought great havoc in Ireland, as well as in 
other places, and greatly added to the misery and 
suffering of the people. Edward adopted a new 
method to save the English from losing their identity 
in Ireland, by passing the famous Statute of Kilkenny, 
which prohibited the English from using the Irish 
language or adopting Irish names. It also inveighed 
against the use of the Brehon Law or customs; mar- 
riage between English and Irish; and the adoption of 
English children by Irish foster-fathers. These pro- 
visions were soon lost sight of; the two races con- 
tinued to fuse into one; and many of the lords of the 
Pale disclaimed allegiance to their old country. 

King Richard II. visited Ireland in 1394 with a 



46 THE IRISH TANGLE 

force of thirty-four thousand men, with the intention 
of settling the question of rebellion for all time. He 
received the submission of seventy-five chiefs and the 
four provincial kings, whom he knighted — O'Neill of 
Ulster, O'Connor of Connaught, MacMurrogh of 
Leinster and O'Brien of Thomond. This submission 
amounted to nothing, for no sooner had the king left 
Ireland than the old order of war and destruction was 
resumed. During the reigns of Henry V. and Henry 
VI. the same disorder continued; and a miniature war 
of the roses was carried on by the Butlers and the Tal- 
bots. While Richardj Duke of York, was Lord Lieu- 
tenant, the Parliament asserted their independence — 
1449 — that they were independent of other laws than 
those made in Ireland, and were entitled to a separate 
coinage. During the Wars of the Roses, while the 
English were occupied in attending to domestic mat- 
ters, and while leaders of the Pale were attacking one 
another, the Irish attacked the settlers and took away 
much of the old Pale, leaving only Louth, Dublin, 
Meath and Kildare. Thomas, the great Earl of Des- 
mond, was appointed Lord Deputy of Ireland upon 
Henry IV.'s accession, and in a short time became 
extremely popular with all parties. He founded 
Youghal College and Drogheda University. The 
Irish Parliament in 1465 decreed that all Irishmen 
in the Pale were to dress and shave like the English, 
and take English surnames. 

After Henry VII. came to the throne, he was called 
upon to deal with the imposter Lambert Simnel, who 



AND A WAY OUT 47 

posed as the Yorkish Prince Edward, and as such was 
received by the Irish — except Waterford, which re- 
tained its loyalty and thus earned the title, "untar- 
nished city." Two thousand Germans arrived to sup- 
port Simnel; but the effort was frustrated and 
"Edward IV." was carried a prisoner to England. 
Other "plots" reached the king's ears, and he sent 
Sir Edward Poynings to Ireland to take charge of the 
situation. He convened parliament in Drogheda in 
1494, when the famous "Poynings Law" was passed. 
This law provided that no Parliament should be called 
in Ireland until the king and Privy Council in Eng- 
land had passed upon the reasons for the call, and 
considered the proposed laws ; and that all the English 
laws affecting the public weal should hold good in Ire- 
land. At this time the Earl of Kildare was arrested 
for treason and sent to prison; but during his trial he 
displayed such peculiar skill that the king had to 
laugh heartily; and, when informed that "All Ireland 
cannot rule this man," replied, "Then if all Ireland 
cannot rule him, he shall rule all Ireland," and so the 
great Earl — Garret or Gerald Fitzgerald — was made 
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. 

Henry the VII. seemed determined to rule Ireland 
with a firm hand; and he employed at various times 
Garret Oge of Kildare, Thomas Howard, Earl of 
Surrey, and Sir William Skeffington to carry out his 
purpose. Later in the reign of Henry VIII. Lord 
Thomas Fitzgerald, Silken Thomas, upon hearing a 
report that his father had been beheaded in 1534, re- 



4S THE IRISH TANGLE 

signed as Lord Deputy, and caused a rebellion, during 
which Archbishop Allen of Dublin was slain and 
much devastation occurred. Under the new Lord 
Deputy and Lord Leonard Grey, Marshal of Ireland, 
the uprising was quelled; Maynooth was battered 
down; and Silken Thomas was sent to the Tower. 
Through the fall of the Fitzgeralds, and the skill of 
Henry's representatives, including Cromwell, the 
power of Engand, which had almost been effaced, 
was again stretched over Ireland, and Henry decided 
to have the English Law respected and enforced. The 
Brehon Law, which obtained from the earliest times, 
and included a system of clan rule and common 
tenure of land by the tribe, was not appreciated by 
the newcomers, who decided to make "Ireland Eng- 
lish" in custom, language and law. In 1536 a parlia- 
ment in Dublin decreed the king to be the Supreme 
Spiritual Head of the Church: and nearly all the 
monasteries were suppressed, and their property and 
lands taken by the Crown. Sir Anthony Sentleger 
was Lord Deputy about 1540, and he influenced the 
king to adopt, instead of the iron rule, conciliatory 
measures in dealing with the chiefs and people. The 
chiefs were thus won over, and acknowledged the 
temporal and spiritual authority of Henry, upon 
whom the Irish Parliament in 1541 conferred the 
title, "King of Ireland." 

The Church in Ireland up, to the middle of the 
twelfth century had been one, and entirely autono- 
mous; but after Henry's men had established them- 



AND A WAY OUT 49 

selves, there were two churches, that of the Pale and 
the ancient Irish Church. There were no differences, 
however, between these in either doctrine or disci- 
pline; but the Pale was under the care of English 
clergy, and the remainder of Ireland was under the 
care of Irish clergy. It is true that the religious life 
of the country suffered greatly through the many 
wars and difficulties that had kept it in constant tur- 
moil, and that the outlook must have been extremely 
discouraging in 1525, when it was stated, "if the 
king do not provide a remedy, there will be no more 
Christianity than in the middle of Turkey." Henry, 
who had had a fair theological training, for it was 
intended at one tme that he should become Archbishop 
of Canterbury, and had distinguished himself in 
writing a book against Lutheranism for which the 
Pope conferred on him the title, "Defender of the 
Faith," set to work to deal with the situation by re- 
nouncing the authority of the Pope and declaring 
himself as the "Supreme Head of the Church of Eng- 
land and Ireland under Christ." To this the people 
generally seemed indifferent, but Archbishop Browne 
of Dublin, with other bishops and many of the clergy 
gave their assent, while Primate Cromer of Armagh 
and some of the clergy and the native chieftains 
opposed the new order. In the reign of Edward VI. 
a Prayer Book in English was foisted on the Irish 
people, against the protests of Primate Dowdall, 
Archbishop Cromer's successor in Armagh, who left 
the Convocation saying, "Now shall every illiterate 



50 THE IRISH TANGLE 

fellow read mass," which became, on the one hand, 
the cause of general strife, and on the other hand, an 
instrument in uniting Ireland, as nothing else had 
done, against English rule. Archbishop Browne had 
written years before to Cromwell, the English Vicar 
General, "both English and Irish begin to oppose 
your Lordship's orders and to lay aside their national 
old quarrels," words prophetic of the present state. 
When Mary came to the throne, she deprived Arch- 
bishop Browne of his See, as well as Bishop Bale of 
Ossory and other bishops who had espoused and 
furthered the new order, and had the old order re- 
established. As soon as Elizabeth became queen she 
reversed the acts of her predecessor and re-established 
the Act of Uniformity, requiring the use of the Eng- 
lish Book of Common Prayer and attendance at the 
service where this book was used. The Plantation of 
Ulster at a later date greatly added to the religious 
troubles of Ireland, as many of the settlers were 
Scotch Presbyterians and English Puritans; and when 
Stafford was Lord Deputy not the least of his labor 
was directed toward a solution of these difficulties. 
The Irish Rebellion of 1641, which tried to cast out 
the English and restore the old order of worship, 
resulted in the prohibition of the new Service Book 
and the establishment of the Puritan Directory and 
Independent preachers. 

During the reign of Edward VI. civil strife again 
broke out in Ireland, and Edward Bellingham was 
sent over with an army to restore order, which he 



AND A WAY OUT 51 

did, and added Leix and Offaly to the Pale. Conflict 
between the Brehon Law and the English caused 
Shane O'Neill to make war upon Matthew O'Neill, 
whom the English Law recognized as the rightful suc- 
cessor to Conn O'Neill, and after several encounters 
with enemies he was declared victor. As Shane 
O'Neill became powerful he caused much concern 
to the English who backed those who opposed him, 
and he was invited to a peace conference with Queen 
Elizabeth in 1562, the conditions of which he after- 
ward repudiated; but in the following year he made 
a valid and lasting submission. 

The war between the Fitzgeralds and Butlers 
caused deputy Sir Henry Sydney to take a tour 
through the country to put down the rebellion. He 
arrested the Earl of Desmond, and allowed his 
brother, John Fitzgerald, to take charge of Munster. 
Later, through their old enemy Ormond, both these 
were sent to the tower, where they were kept for six 
years. Their cousin, James Fitzmaurice Fitzgerald, 
took up their case witli the Irish chiefs, who had be- 
come greatly disaffected, from which came the 
Geraldine rebellion. Sydney did all he could to 
upset the league of enemies and to put down the 
rebellion. He appointed Presidents to govern Mun- 
ster and Connaught, but these simply tantalized the 
chiefs and people and increased their insubordina- 
tion. Spain and the Pope, at the solicitation of 
Thomas Stukely, an Irishman, decided to attack Ire- 
land, and accordingly sent Italian and Spanish 



52 THE IRISH TANGLE 

soldiers over; but their efforts were not successful. 
In the following year, 1580, another expedition of 
Italian and Spanish soldiers took possession of a fort 
at Smerwich, Kerry; but were later defeated by Earl 
Grey. In 1583 the Earl of Desmond was slain; his 
lands confiscated, and, so, that rebellion which pro- 
duced the greatest hardships and suffering in Munster 
was brought to a close. 

The plantation of Desmond's land was now taken 
up. Land was offered to Englishmen at two pence 
and three pence per acre, and no rent was to be col- 
lected for the first five years. Everyone who took 
up twelve thousand acres of this land agreed to settle 
eighty-six English families on it; a like arrangement 
was made for smaller holdings. Sir Walter Raleigh 
look charge of forty-two thousand acres in Cork and 
Waterford, and took up his residence near old Saint 
Mary's Church, Youghal. Edmund Spenser took 
charge of twelve thousand acres in Cork. The Eng- 
lish settlers did not come as arranged, however, and 
soon most of the land reverted to its former owners. 

Hugh O'Neill was born about 1545, and succeeded 
his brother as Baron of Dungannon. His early educa- 
tion was received in England, where he adopted the 
manners of the people and espoused the cause of the 
government. For his loyalty in the early days of his ca- 
reer in Ireland, and the help he accorded the Govern- 
ment, he was duly created Earl of Tyrone, after which 
he lost interest in the English projects and finally cast 



AND A WAY OUT 53 

all his injfluence on the side of the chiefs and kings 
who opposed the English. In view of the disturbed 
slate of the country, three thousand troops were sent 
from England under the generalship of Sir John Nor- 
ris; and O'Neill, fearing that this presaged the general 
subjugation of Ireland, placed himself at the head of 
a revolutionary movement and began to plunder and 
destroy the English settlements. After succeeding 
in defeating the English in various parts of the coun- 
try he won a rather decisive victory at Yellow Ford 
with the aid of Hugh Roe O'Donnell, Maguire, and 
MacDonnell of the Glens — all leaders of pronounced 
ability. On hearing of the success of the revolution- 
ists in the North, the chiefs of Munster incited their 
people to rebel also, and soon the whole of Ireland 
was in a state of turmoil and disorder unequaled in 
past history. At this time, 1599, Robert Devereux, 
second Earl of Essex, was appointed Lord Lieutenant 
and instructed to bring Tyrone to account, and to 
settle his twenty thousand men throughout Ireland 
to restore order; but his efforts, including a peace 
conference with O'Neill, came to nothing, and he was 
succeeded by Charles Blunt, Lord Mountjoy, a man 
of marked ability. Lord Mountjoy, who was ably 
supported by Sir George Carew, President of Munster, 
in a short time restored order in all the provinces, ex- 
cept Ulster — where O'Neill and O'Donnell still gave 
fight, although in an area that was becoming smaller 
daily. The arrival of a Spanish fleet at Kinsale with 
3,400 troops, and an urgent appeal to the Northern 



54 THE IRISH TANGLE 

chiefs, soon brought O'Neill and O'Donnell to Munster 
to carry on the rebellion there. The Spanish leader, 
Don Juan del Aquila, and the Irish chiefs were outgen- 
eraled by Lord Mountjoy and Kinsale, and a line of 
forts, including Baltimore, Castlehaven and Dunboy, 
fell into the hands of the English. Hugh O'Neill was 
brought to Dublin: the Earl of Desmond went to 
Spain: and the war was brought to a close. After 
O'Neill's submission he and O'Donnell accompanied 
Lord Mountjoy to England, where James I. of Eng- 
land restored them to their titles of Tyrone and Tir- 
connell with their former lands. Under Sir Arthur 
Chichester, Mountjoy's successor, the English Laws 
and customs were established in Ireland, with a view 
to the settlement of the country's difficulties, but this 
effort was not successful, as the Irish clung to their 
old Brehon Laws and customs. In a short while 
Tyrone and Tirconnell fled the country for France, 
from where they went to Rome where the King of 
Spain and the Pope gave them pensions, which they 
enjoyed to the end of their days. 

As soon as James came to the throne he decided 
that the acts of Supremacy and Uniformity — which 
to a great decree had been unenforced — should be 
repealed; and, also, that the greater part of Ulster, 
which had been under the two defeated Earls, should 
become the property of the Crown. Thus came about 
the Plantation of Ulster — which was divided into 
2,000, 1,500 and 1,000-acre lots. The first were to 
be taken by English and Scotch settlers: the second. 



AND A WAY OUT 55 

by those who had served the Government: and the 
third, by English, Scotch or Irish. 

In 1633 King Charles I. sent Wentworth to Ire- 
land, who gave himself up to raising money for the 
king and to acquiring land in Connaught and Mun- 
ster, in which he placed new settlers as fast as he 
could find men ready to agree to his rules. In Ulster 
he laid the foundation of the linen business by bring- 
ing skilled men from France to work in the industry 
there, and from this time dates the development of 
Irish commerce. He summoned an Irish Parliament 
in 1634, and compelled the members, among other 
things, to vote the wherewithal to maintain an army 
of five thousand foot and five hundred horse. He 
raised an army of nine thousand men in Ireland, 
whom he intended to use in the king's service, but 
who were disbanded and became a source of great 
trouble after his recall in 1641. 

A terrible rebellion, fed by religious animosity, 
took place throughout Ireland under the leadership 
of Rory O'Moore, Sir Phelim O'Neill, Lord Maguire 
of Fermanugh, Magennis, O'Reilly and the Mac- 
Mahons, in 1641; and these men sought the help of 
France, Spain and the Netherlands in their desire to 
cast out and destroy every vestige of English life in 
the country. On the 23d of October a general upris- 
ing took place, and, except in Dublin, the English 
and their sympathisers were set upon and thousands 
were murdered inside a week. The cruelties inflicted 
on the people were extremely barbarous. The 



56 THE IRISH TANGLE 

Roman Catholics of the Pale now joined with those 
outside and effected a union called the "Confedera- 
tion of Kilkenny," set upon defending "the public 
and free exercise of the true and Catholic Roman 
religion;" and tried to make the people believe that 
they were loyal subjects' of the king. In 1645 the 
Pope sent a representative to join this confederation, 
with a large amount of money and war instruments. 
After repeated efforts and defeats, the Confedera- 
tion agreed to peace terms which brought a ghastly 
chapter of Irish history to a close. 

Upon the death of Charles I., the Irish made a new 
alignment, and turned to the Royalist side, proclaim- 
ing the Prince of Wales king under the title of 
Charles II. To meet the situation Oliver Cromwell 
was despatched with a large army and supplies of all 
kinds, and in less than a year succeeded in subduing 
his enemies and bringing the country to a compara- 
tive state of order. After Cromwell's son-in-law and 
second in command, Ireton, had carried on the work 
of settlement, he died in Ireland, and was succeeded 
by Edmund Ludlow. In 1652 Parliament decided 
to follow up Cromwell's victory by depriving those 
leaders who had fought against him of their lands, 
and settling instead many of those who had sup- 
ported him. The small farmers were not disturbed, 
however, which explains in part the large number of 
Roman Catholics found in the South and West of 
Ireland. The soldiers who had fought against Crom- 
well were allowed to go elsewhere, and many entered 



AND A WAY OUT 57 

the service of Continental armies. The Parliament 
of 1661 passed a law that restored any person who 
had had no part in the uprising of 1641 to his former 
place and land. Under this law hundreds of people 
proved their innocence and were reinstated. 

At the time of the Restoration, it is estimated that, 
of a population of 1,100,000 in Ireland, no less than 
800,000 were adherents of the Roman Catholic 
Church, and 100,000 were members of the Church of 
Ireland — which Charles restored to its former place 
— and 200,000 were non-conformists. The Presby- 
terians were now brought into contact with the Act 
of Uniformity. When James II. came into power he 
steadfastly tried to set the Roman Catholic religion 
on a solid footing in Ireland by turning every English- 
man out of office, and requiring that every Judge, 
Privy Councillor, Mayor and Alderman should be a 
Roman Catholic and an Irishman. The Irish army 
was placed under men who had fulfilled the above 
test: and many rumors as to intended massacers 
spread through the country, so that fifteen hundred 
non-Roman Catholic families left the country. Will- 
iam, Prince of Orange, came to Ireland to call James 
and his officers to account, but James fled to France, 
where he raised a small army to take back to Ireland. 
Enniskillen refused to admit James' army; and 
Derry, into which many refugees had come for safety, 
with the slogan "no surrender," remained in a state 
of siege for one hundred and five days, after which 
James and his followers had to withdraw defeated. 



58 THE IRISH TANGLE 

Meanwhile James had a Roman Catholic parliament 
in Dublin repeal all the offensive measures hitherto 
passed, including Poyning's Law and the Act of 
Settlement. 

In 1689 the Duke of Schomberg was sent to Ire- 
land to interrupt James' program among the people; 
but no sooner had he arrived than the French ruler 
sent James seven thousand picked men to help in his 
battles. The battle was set in array on July 1st near 
Oldbridge, and after a day's hard fighting James ran 
from the field with his defeated force retreating 
toward Dublin. Sarsfield, James' chief leader, upon 
hearing of James' defeat, said to one of William's 
army, "Change kings with us, and we will fight you 
over again." Limerick resisted William's siege, after 
which he returned to England, leaving Churchill, then 
Earl of Marlborough, in command, before whom 
Cork and Kinsale capitulated. Soon Athlone and 
Aughrim were overcome. Limerick alone remained 
in revolt. Sarsfield agreed to a treaty under the 
terms of which security from disturbance on account 
of religion was guaranteed ; those in arms with James 
were allowed what they possessed in Charles I.'s time; 
the garrison were allowed to march out of the city 
with colors flying; and those who wanted to go abroad 
were allowed to do so. William and Mary were then 
acknowledged as the rulers of the country. 

Steps were now taken to prevent the Roman Catho- 
lics from attaining any real power in the affairs of 
the country, so that another uprising against their 



AND A WAY OUT 59 

brethren of other religious proclivities should be im- 
possible; and the measures taken by James against 
the non-Roman Catholics were improved and now 
put into force against the Roman Catholics. James 
had disarmed the people who were not likely to sup- 
port his efforts; but the laws of William forbade 
most of the Roman Catholics to possess arms, and to 
the oath of Supremacy was added the oath of Abjura- 
tion. Other laws enacted touched the liberty of all 
who did not being to the Church of Ireland, and 
especially that one which made it necessary for voters 
to receive the Eucharist according to the established 
rite. These laws were made more obnoxious in later 
years, and resulted in general disaffection. 

The legitimate trade of Ireland was greatly ham- 
pered by legislation intended to advance the interests 
of the English farmers and others. The Navigation 
Act of 1660-3 forbade exports to the Colonies and 
the sending of Irish raised cattle to England. In 
1698 the Irish Parliament greatly helped in destroy- 
ing the woolen trade of the country by placing a tax 
of four shillings in the pound on woolen goods sent 
out of the country to other markets, and a tax of two 
shillings on frieze and flannel. This legislation crip- 
pled trade, and as a result thousands were thrown 
out of work — many of whom emigrated. 



60 THE IRISH TANGLE 



CHAPTER IV 
The Union and Some of Its Results 

Distinguished leaders. — Various societies formed. — The 
Volunteers and the 1783 Parliament. — Coercion. — Enfran- 
chisement of Koman Catholics. — Wolf Tone and the 1798 
Rebellion. — Northern Orangemen.— The Union. — Efforts to 
Repeal. — Daniel O'Connell enters Parliament. — National 
education. — Various reforms. — The "Young Ireland Party." — 
John Mitchell and independence. — The Famine, 1845-7 and 
American aid. — The Church of Ireland disestablished. 

N the reign of Queen Anne little took place 
which affected the welfare of Ireland, 
except the. petition from the Irish House 
of Lords that the two countries be united, 
but no legislative action was taken to this end. 
After the Union between England and Scotland 
had been effected, the petition was again presented, 
but all to no purpose. Later, when a legal case was 
passed upon by the Irish House of Lords, the English 
House of Lords reversed the decision; and, later, as 
a consequence of this disagreement, the English Par- 
liament passed the famous law, "The Sixth of 
George L", which deprived the Irish House of Lords 
of the power to hear appeals, and arrogated to itself 
the power to make laws for Ireland. 

The tract of William Molyneux, "The Case of 
Ireland's being bound by Acts of Parliament in Eng- 
land stated," must have whetted Dean Swift's dis- 




AND A WAY OUT 61 

approval of Ireland's scant legislative power, and 
twenty-five years later caused him to write the famous 
"Drapier Letters," which gave a definite turn to the 
thoughts and aspirations of the Irish people. The 
English Government had granted to a certain Mr. 
Wood, of England, a patent to make £108,000 worth 
of half -pence and farthings for use in Ireland, out of 
which the maker of the coins would make £40,000 
for his own pocket. The two houses of the Irish 
Parliament had disapproved of this law, and had 
stated that the proposed coins were to be of less value 
than those used in England, consequently depressing 
Irish trade and commerce; but the English authorities 
remained obdurate, and the law would have passed, 
if Dean Swift had not taken the matter in hand. Dean 
Swift wrote five letters in his most trenchant style, and 
signed them W. B. Drapier. stating that twenty-four of 
those proposed half-pence would be worth only one 
good penny, that the people would have to use carts 
and horses to draw their coins to the shops when 
marketing, and that even the very beggars would be 
ruined by it, for, he stated, one of these half pennies 
"will do him no more service than if I should give 
him three pins out of my sleeve." The whole country, 
for once, were at one in condemning the scheme; and 
popular indignation was at its height when Lord Car- 
teret, the new Viceroy, offered £300 to any one who 
would produce the writer of the letters; but, while 
everyone knew that the Dean was the writer, no one 
was willing to get him into trouble, and, so, he was not 



62 THE IRISH TANGLE 

interfered with. The printer was imprisoned, and 
tried by two juries who failed to agree on a verdict. 
These letters however, killed the scheme; and the 
patent was withdrawn from Wood, who received a 
pension for his disappointment. The Dean was a 
thorough patriot: years before he had put forth a 
plan, which if carried out would have gone a long way 
toward making the country more prosperous, united 
and self-reliable, "For the universal use of Irish 
manufacture in clothes and the furniture of houses;" 
but he received little encouragement from his 
countrymen. 

The short stay of Lord Chesterton as Viceroy was 
a hopeful time for Ireland, for, instead of antagoniz- 
ing any party as some of his predecessors had done, 
he inaugurated a policy of conciliation toward all, 
ignoring various laws and ruling according to his own 
good sense. "I came," said he, "determined to pro- 
scribe no set of persons whatever, and determined to 
be governed by none." This policy, however, gave 
offence, and soon he was recalled, taking with him 
the affection and love of the people, and leaving a 
record that greatly helped to further the desires of 
the people, so ably voiced and supported by 
Mr. Molyneux and Dean Swift. The question as to 
the disposition of a surplus revenue, and its final 
settlement without the king's consent, greatly in- 
creased the power of the party in Parliament known 
as "Patriots," and gave more zest and form to the 
movement for parliamentary independence. Dr. 



AND A WAY OUT 63 

Charles Lucas of Dublin was so bold in pushing the 
case for independence and the abolition of disabling 
law, that the Irish Parliament instituted legal pro- 
ceedings against him, and he fled to England for 
safety. About this time a society, having for its ob- 
ject the furthering of the interests of Roman Catholics, 
was formed as the "Catholic Committee." A society 
of "Whiteboys" was formed in 1761, the object of 
which was to guard against the encroachment of land- 
lords; but later this society assumed the right of deal- 
ing treacherously and wantonly with all who differed 
from them. Other societies such as "Hearts of Oak," 
formed against forced labor on roads, and "Hearts 
of Steel," formed against the trafficking of middlemen 
in rents, came into existence about this time, to which 
were added later the Volunteers, the society of 
"United Irishmen," and the "Orangemen." Mr. 
Henry Flood, a man of unusual ability, now came for- 
ward as the leader of the "Patriotic Party" in Par- 
liament, and succeeded, aided by the eloquent Henry 
Grattan, in securing some concessions from the Eng- 
lish Government regarding the Irish Parliament. The 
life of the English Parliament was seven years, while 
that of the Irish Parliament was during the king's 
pleasure; and now a bill was approved in both Par- 
liaments making the life of the Irish Parliament eight 
years. Mr. Flood, however, owing to his having 
accepted a post under the English Viceroy, lost the 
confidence of the Irish people, and was succeeded as 
leader by his friend Mr. Grattan, who never spared 



64 THE IRISH TANGLE 

his oratorical power when opportunity offered. 
When Mr. Grattan assumed command, the interests 
of England were in a critical state. The American 
Independence was being secured, France and Spain 
were threatening invasion and helping the Colonies, 
the Irish were raising Volunteers to keep Ireland safe, 
and the patriots were clamoring for redress of re- 
ligious and commercial grievances in Parliament — 
which were partially set right. 

When the Parliament of 1779 assembled, the 
Patriotic Party, who now practically controlled the 
Volunteers, became more assertive and dictational, 
and Mr. Grattan moved an amendment to the address, 
*'that it is not by temporary expedients, but by a free 
trade alone that this nation is now to be saved from 
impending ruin." Free trade was granted the same 
year. After a couple of attempts to secure favorable 
legislation, Mr. Grattan, in 1782, called together 
representatives of the 100,000 Volunteers for a con- 
vention at Dungannon, and there two hundred and 
forty-two delegates passed some striking resolutions. 
These delegates declared that the King and the Irish 
Parliament alone had the right to make laws for Ire- 
land: that Poyning's Law was unconstitutional; that 
Irish ports should be open to all friendly nations; and 
that they rejoiced in the relaxation of the Penal Laws 
against their Roman Catholic fellow-subjects. These 
resolutions — with others of the Convention — were 
duly ratified by the Volunteers, who were not Roman 
Catholics. The English Parliament passed an act 



AND A WAY OUT 65 

the same year, known as the "Act of Repeal," repeal- 
ing the "Sixth of George I.", and putting into effect 
the recommendations of Mr. Grattan and the Volun- 
teers, which brought forth rejoicing among the Irish, 
who rewarded Mr. Grattan by a grant of money and 
voted men and money to the English navy. 

During the session of the Parliament of 1783 in 
Dublin, representatives of the Volunteers met in Dub- 
lin also, and considered the question of reforming 
Parliament and annuling all disagreeable laws. 
Mr. Henry Flood brought a bill into Parliament set- 
ting forth the desires of those representatives, which, 
however, failed of passage and resulted in Mr. Flood's 
entering the Parliament in England and the disband- 
ing of the Volunteers. Upon the disbanding of the 
Volunteers, who continued to hold secret meetings in 
small groups, the government fearing trouble, which 
seemed to be brewing, added to the army strength in 
Ireland. At this time the "Whiteboys" inaugurated 
a reign of terror in the South, and avenged their 
anger on those who appeared to be gaining from the 
system that they were anxious to abolish. The "tithe" 
collectors, middlemen and curates were especially 
singled out, and received the hardest kind of treat- 
ment. In the North the "Peep-o'-day boys" carried 
on a campaign of terror also, and often came into 
open conflict with the "Whiteboys," who were de- 
feated at the Dimond, Armagh, in a battle on Septem- 
ber 21, 1795. As a means of dealing with the strife 
engendered by these societies, the Government in 



66 THE IRISH TANGLE 

1787 passed a coercion bill that applied to the whole 
of Ireland. 

Through the efforts of the "United Irishmen," 
founded by Mr. Theobald Wolfe Tone in 1791, and 
the "Catholic Committee," a Bill was passed in Par- 
liament in 1793 enfranchising Roman Catholics, 
allowing them to take degrees in Trinity College, 
opening civil posts to them, and removing barriers 
which for a long time had been cause for disaffection. 
Two years later, the government set apart the college 
of Maynooth — for the education of Roman Catholic 
priests — and gave it an annual grant of £8,000. 

The "United Irishmen," who now numbered more 
than five hundred thousand men, and had among 
their leaders some of the most prominent men of the 
time, soon became recognized as a revolutionary 
body and were closely watched by the government. 
Mr. Tone, their leader, seeing that England had many 
problems on hand, went to France and arranged for 
a French invasion of Ireland; but when the fleet of 
forty-three ships was nearing its destination it en- 
countered such severe weather that only sixteen of 
the ships came into harbor, and these after waiting 
a week for other support returned again to France. 
Martial Law was then proclaimed by the government; 
several "United Irishmen" were arrested and many 
papers seized. Mr. Grattan, having failed to effect 
conciliatory arrangements between the "United Irish- 
men" and the Government, left Parliament. The next 
year a Dutch invasion of Ireland was tried; but Ad- 



AND A WAY OUT 67 

miral Duncan inflicted a heavy blow on the invaders 
at Camperdown, which brought their effort to an end. 
The general discontent among the "Volunteers" 
soon led to open rebellion, for which the Government 
were practically prepared, as the secret arrangements 
of these societies had been carried to government 
leaders through a fairly good spy system, and when 
a concerted rebellion was about to break all over 
Ireland, some of its leaders were arrested. When the 
rebellion of 1798 did, however, come, it was ushered 
in through the crudest methods; and it was overcome 
by like treatment. In the North, the rebellion did not 
attain large proportions owing to the society of 
"Orangemen," who always took the side of the Gov- 
ernment; but in the South and East the rising was car- 
ried on in the most ruthless fashion, and many inno- 
cent, law-abiding people were murdered. Generally 
considered, this rebellion, while it started as a politi- 
cal one, developed quickly into a religious strife be- 
tween the Roman Catholics and the non-Roman Catho- 
lics, and numerous instances of cruelty occurred on 
each side. The massacre of the loyal people who had 
gathered in Scullaboge house, eight miles from New 
Ross, by the infuriated Roman Catholics, is an exam- 
ple of the treatment accorded those who fell into 
enemy hands. The account of this particular act of 
religious fury is as familiar to the people of Ireland 
today as anything that ever took place in the country; 
and many think of it as a well-conceived plan to ex- 
terminate as far as possible the non-Roman Catholic 



68 THE IRISH TANGLE 

people. After a week's bloody warfare the rebellion 
was practically overcome by the victory of Vinegar 
Hill, under Lord Lake; and, although resistance was 
offered here and there throughout the country, the 
conquering soldiers swept hither and thither inflicting 
cruelty and indignity by way of reprisal upon the re- 
treating enemy. There was no hope of success after 
this, especially as French aid long promised did not 
arrive until it was too late. The French expedition 
which landed at Killala Bay on August 22, 1798, and 
the one which came to Lough Swilly, with which 
Mr. Wolfe Tone was identified, were duly defeated; 
and, instead of helping the rebellion, greatly preju- 
diced the Irish case in the minds of the Government 
and the loyalists. 

William Pitt, who had contemplated a legislative 
Union between England and Ireland, was Prime Min- 
ister, and very soon seized upon the opportunity which 
the defeat of the rebellion off"ered to shape sentiment 
and clear the way for putting what he believed to be 
a necessity for the welfare of both countries into 
effect. Lord Comwallis, who in many ways resem- 
bled Lord Chesterton in his dealing with Ireland, was 
Lord Lieutenant at this time, and often shrunk from 
carrying out measures which appeared necessary to 
secure the required authority of the Irish Parliament 
for their own death warrant. The Irish Parliament 
was opened on January 15, 1800, and, as the people 
knew what was under consideration, great anxiety pre- 
vailed in the Streets of Dublin and throughout the 



AND A WAY OUT 69 

land. Mr. Grattan, who was confined to bed through 
illness, rose up to attend the session and made an 
effort to have the union measure defeated or post- 
poned, but without avail; and the Act of Union was 
passed with a large majority, and came into effect on 
the first of January, 1801. 

The Act of Union made Ireland and Great Britain 
'The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland," 
and guaranteed the succession to the throne. In the 
new Parliament, Ireland was given in the upper house 
four spiritual and twenty-eight temporal Lords, and 
in the lower house one hundred members. The 
Church of Ireland was united with that of England; 
but no provision was made for the conferring of com- 
plete religious rights upon the Roman Catholic peo- 
ple, which, however, was remedied some years after- 
wards. Trade and Commerce of both countries were 
brought under the same law; Ireland was to con- 
tribute about two-seventeenths of the United Kingdom 
outlay; and it was decided that the National Debt 
should be paid by each country as formerly. The 
Courts of Justice were to remain as then constituted, 
with an opportunity of final appeal to the House of 
Lords. The population of Ireland at the time of the 
Union was about five million. The economic con- 
dition of the country at that time is stated in another 
part of this book. 

The Union was no sooner effected than steps were 
taken toward another rebellion under Mr. Robert 
Emmet, who tried to bring together the disbanded 
5 



70 THE IRISH TANGLE 

"United Irishmen;" but, in his effort to secure con- 
certed action among those who responded to his call, 
he failed completely. The uprising of July, 1802, 
was quickly suppressed by the military, and Mr. Em- 
met was arrested, tried, and executed. This, as other 
uprisings, was productive of much strife among the 
people, and contributed largely toward the disturbed 
state of the country. 

The "Catholic Committee" continued its efforts 
toward the removing of the last disability which pre- 
vented Roman Catholics from sitting in Parliament. 
At this time a new leader appeared, who possessed 
special qualifications for the work to which he gave 
his best efforts. Mr. Daniel O'Connell was a man 
who had come from a Kerry Roman Catholic family, 
and had studied abroad in preparation for the legal 
profession; but after his admission to the bar he gave 
himself chiefly to the work of nullifying the law which 
prevented the Roman Catholics from entering Parlia- 
ment, and, also, to the starting of a movement for the 
repeal of the law which effected the Union, which he 
termed the "Repeal of the Union." Mr. O'Connell, 
unlike most leaders, deprecated the principle of open 
hostility to the Government of his time, and deter- 
mined to seek his ends through quiet and persistent 
methods, depending on the reasonableness of his 
claims, educational work, and the fair-mindedness of 
those in power. In this new method of acquiring his 
end, Mr. O'Connell was ably supported by that gifted 
man Mr. Thomas Moore, who composed some inspir- 



AND A WAY OUT 71 

ing songs and set them to old Irish airs, and thus 
helped to draw the attention of the people to the past 
and also to foster a national consciousness. As Mr. 
Grattan's successor, Mr. O'Connell soon came into 
prominence; and, owing to his persuasive oratory, 
secured a hearing wherever he went and was greatly 
in demand as a public speaker. Mr. Grattan and 
George the III. died in 1820. George the IV. de- 
cided to visit Ireland, where the welcome he received 
was of the most cordial nature, especially as the Irish 
people generally believed that his stay among them 
would result soon in legislation favorable to their 
country. As no relief came as the result of this visit, 
the country remained disturbed: and in 1822, Sir 
Robert Peel, who had been Chief Secretary since 
1812, had the Royal Irish Constabulary, generally 
dubbed "peelers," created by Act of Parliament. 

In 1823 Mr. O'Connell and Mr. Richard Lalor 
Shiel formed the "Catholic Association," the old, and 
the new, "Catholic Committee" having ceased to ex- 
ist, with the purpose of obtaining Roman Catholic 
freedom in the fullest sense ; and, in order to provide 
finance for this object, the Association, which had 
reached all over the country, collected one penny per 
week from their supporters. This subscription was 
called "Catholic Rent." An Act of Parliament legis- 
lated the "Association" out of existence, but Mr. 
O'Connell managed to circumvent the law and keep 
the Association alive — calling meetings from time to 
time for a fortnight only. 



72 THE IRISH TANGLE 

Mr. O'Connell's fitness for Parliament was appar- 
ent to everyone, but, as a Roman Catholic, he could 
not conscientiously qualify. Some men, however, of 
all kinds of political affiliation, desirous to see 
Mr. O'Connell representing Ireland, suggested to him 
that he should stand for election, and, if elected, pre- 
sent himself at the House of Commons for admission. 
A vacancy in Clare gave the opportunity to put this 
plan into effect. Mr. O'Connell opposed Mr. Vesey 
Fitzgerald, the former member — who owing to prefer- 
ment to the Presidency of the Board of Trade had to 
seek re-election — and was elected to Parliament by 
a large majority. When Mr. O'Connell first appeared 
in Parliament he refused to take the qualifying oath, 
and, so was debarred. After another election and his 
return by a larger majority than previously, the gov- 
ernment awoke to the importance of the part the 
"Catholic Association" was playing and the desire 
of the people of Ireland and England for Mr. O'Con- 
nell's admission to Parliament, and soon legislation 
was enacted which enabled him to take the seat to 
which he had been elected. He had, however, for the 
third time to seek election, as the bill which granted 
Emancipation came into effect on April 13, 1829, 
and was not retroactive; but in this election he was 
not opposed, and in due time was admitted to the 
United Parliament, where he started a movement for 
another end, which has continued to this day, under 
one title or another, the "Repeal of the Union." 

George IV. died in 1830, and was succeeded by his 



AND A WAY OUT 73 

brother William IV. Then followed a General 
Election, which resulted in the re-election of 
Mr. O'Connell and the election of several Roman 
Catholic supporters. The "Catholic Association" 
was now named the "Society of the Friends of Ire- 
land," and, as this was declared illegal, Mr. O'Con- 
nell formed the "Anti-Union Association" which was 
likewise proscribed. In 1831 Chief Secretary E. C. 
Stanley founded a National Education system in Ire- 
land, which combined secular and religious instruc- 
tion for the children under separate religious 
auspices, and provided that no interference with any 
child's religious teachings should take place. To this 
system, still in vogue, reference is made in another 
chapter. In 1832, a Parliament Reform Bill was 
passed, which gave a vote to tenants of £50 a year, 
and to lease-holders at ten pounds a year, and in- 
creased the number of Irish representatives to one 
hundred and five. The restiveness caused by the 
"Church tithes and church rates" requirement was 
partially settled in 1833 by the "Church Temporali- 
ties Bill," which, besides reducing the Archbishoprics 
from four to two and the Bishoprics from eighteen to 
ten, abolished church rates; and five years later the 
tithes were reduced to twenty-five per cent., and the 
responsibility of payment placed on the landlord in- 
stead of the tenant as formerly. 

William IV. died on June 20th, 1837, and was suc- 
ceeded by his niece. Princess Victoria. In the next 
year the great temperance movement was inaugurated 



74 THE IRISH TANGLE 

by the Reverend Theobald Matthew, who exercised 
wonderful influence over the people and persuaded 
many to become total abstainers. In 1842 the "Na- 
tion" newspaper was founded by Messrs. Charles 
Gavan Duffy, John Blake Dillon and Thomas Davis, 
which propagated the desire for political freedom 
and revived the nation's literature. In the next year 
Mr. O'Connell and his followers held large meetings 
throughout the country, for the furtherance of the 
Repeal of the Union, which were at length forbidden 
by the Government; but Mr. O'Connell's disregard 
for the Government's orders resulted in his arrest, 
trial, and conviction — which was later disallowed by 
the House of Lords. After Mr. O'Connell's libera- 
tion a number of men, becoming dissatisfied with his 
methods, determined to break from his leadership and 
found a society of their own to be guided by other 
principles of attaining the Repeal of the Union. 

These men, among whom Messrs. John Mitchell, 
Thomas Francis Meagher and William Smith O'Brien, 
as leaders, formed, "The Young Ireland Party," 
which was intended to include all Irishmen of every 
party and creed. This movement did wonders among 
the people, for it created a desire for, and propagated, 
Irish history and made the people more appreciative 
of their music, folk-lore and tradition. It gave the 
country a broad vision, in that it fostered apprecia- 
tion of all that was good in the past, and inculcated a 
desire to respect other men's views. It gave a new 
ispirit which, if it had remained, would have removed 



AND A WAY OUT 75 

many difficulties in Ireland's path in later years: but 
that was not to be. Notwthstanding Mr. O'Connell's 
advice to this party, for he foresaw where their new 
attitude would lead them, Mr. John Mitchell, who had 
founded a newspaper called the "United Irishman," 
headed a movement for the complete independence 
of Ireland and sought aid from France to this end. 
Mr. Mitchell was arrested, tried and sentenced to 
fourteen years penal servitude, which he worked out 
in Bermuda and Australia. Mr. Smith O'Brien then 
led the revolution, which was quickly suppressed, as 
no real plan had been made for its continuance, and 
the leaders were in due time imprisoned. 

In 1845-1847 the disastrous potato famine took 
place in Ireland. Help was sent from England and 
from America; but notwithstanding all the assistance 
rendered thousands of people died of starvation. 
In Grace Church Parish House, New York, Rev. Dr. 
Slattery, Rector, may be seen an engraving of the 
town of Sligo and a letter of thanks, sent by the people 
of Sligo to the congregation of Grace Church in ap- 
preciation of their generous aid in those trying days. 
Mr. O'Connell, who had keenly felt the misery en- 
tailed by the famine, began to decline in health in 
1846 and on the fifteenth of May, 1847, died in 
Genoa, after willing his heart to Rome and his body 
to Ireland, where, in Glasneven Cemetery, Dublin, 
his remains were interred, and a monument erected to 
his memory. The famine, which influenced the law 
repealing the Corn Laws was a real blight in the de- 



76 THE IRISH TANGLE 

velopment of Ireland. Emigration now set in as one 
of the cures of the evils left in the wake of the famine, 
and thousands set out for America and elsewhere to 
seek their fortunes, with a result of a large falling off 
in rural population and a marked decrease in the 
whole population of the country. At the time of the 
Union there were about 5,000,000 people in Ireland, 
whereas about 1845, when the famine began, there 
were 8,295,000, but this number was greatly reduced 
by the famine and emigration; and at the present time, 
notwithstanding the many aids given by the govern- 
ment, during the past fifty years, in local government, 
land purchase and industrial development, the whole 
population is less than 5,000,000. The decrease in 
rural population is not, however, peculiar to Ireland; 
but is world-wide, as the history of almost every coun- 
try shows during the last half -century. 

The "Society of the Fenian Brotherhood" was 
formed in 1862, and had for its object the securing of 
Ireland's independence by force; but, although a se- 
cret society, the government, through spies, knew 
every move made and were able to frustrate its 
efforts at all times. This Brotherhood spread to Eng- 
land and America. In England the Fenians planned 
to take Chester, and later to make an invasion of Ire- 
land, and in America they planned an invasion of 
Canada; but in each instance their efforts proved 
abortive, and the ringleaders were either executed or 
sent to prison. 

After these events, and by way of making a con- 



AND A WAY OUT 77 

cession to the demands of some of the advocates of 
Ireland's case, the Government set about a reforma- 
tion in the temporal affairs of the Church of Ireland; 
and, in accordance with Mr. Gladstone's desire, the 
Church of Ireland was legally disestablished in 1869. 
Owing to this order, a large sum of money came into 
the hands of the Government from the Church of Ire- 
land. Part of this money was given to support 
Maynooth College, the training college for the Roman 
Catholic Ministry; part of it was given to Inter- 
mediate Education; and part of it was given toward 
the agricultural development of the Island. The 
Church of Ireland has since that time been free from 
State interference. 



78 THE IRISH TANGLE 




CHAPTER V 
Remedial Measures of Importance 

Progressive legislation. — The Land Acts, between 1870 and 
1909, and their results. — Sir Horace Plunkett's Co-operative 
plans. — The Irish Agricultural Society. — Congested Districts' 
Board. — Laborers' cottages. — The Recess Committee. — Local 
Government, 1908, and its working. — Irish Universities. — 
Secondary education. — Gaelic League. 

HERE is no question that Ireland's wel- 
fare from the beginning of the Nineteenth 
Century has been given a large place in 
the deliberations of Parliament, and that 
statesmen of every class and creed have been 
anxious to see her succeed and prosper. Along with 
the desire and efforts of many of the Irish for a Home 
Rule measure went the desire for economic success; 
and while the first has not been attained to the extent 
that the present majority leaders claim as a right, yet 
the second has been making great strides forward and 
receiving substantial support not only from the Gov- 
ernment but also from Irishmen themselves, outside 
Government circles and without party or political 
distinction. This is one of the most encouraging 
aspects of the country which in the early days of the 
war received from a Parliamentary leader the com- 
pliment of being, "the one bright spot" of the Empire; 
and who knows what may result from this generous 



AND A WAY OUT 79 

attitude and support in the future. The account of 
Ireland's life in the foregoing pages, brief, as it neces- 
sarily had to be, and with only a wish to state the 
salient points by which perhaps those who are not 
quite familiar with Ireland's history might arrive at 
an understanding of the present, shows that, at the 
time of the Union there was large opportunity for 
development and progress in the whole life of the 
people. That opportunity was to some extent em- 
braced in the next forty-five years, but from that time 
to this the march of progress, aided and strengthened 
by favorable legislation and large grants of money, 
is really marvellous. 

Those who made the chief efforts in the early days 
are to be thanked for their ability in recognizing the 
proper place where reformation should begin, and for 
laying the foundation of a place which has already 
borne gratifying results and has influenced every side 
of Irish life. The purchase of land by the tenant has 
contributed largely to the success of other movements; 
and to the highly prosperous condition of the country 
to-day. Before the Land Act of 1870, most of the 
farmers in Ireland held their land from year to year 
according to the pleasure of the landlord, who if his 
tenants failed to pay their rent simply dispossessed 
them and rented the land to others. In some instances 
it made no difference whether they paid their rent 
promptly or not, if the landlord decided to take the 
land from them out they went and that was the end of 
it. The farms in most cases were very small, and in 



80 THE IRISH TANGLE 

many instances were divided into sections — with a 
field here or there perhaps in the middle of somebody 
else's land — which made the cultivation and upkeep, 
as far as these went, difficult and expensive. The far- 
mer who took interest in his farm and improved it, 
was usually rewarded in the form of an increase of 
rent, and, consequently, except where a mutual under- 
standing between landlord and tenant had been 
arrived at, there was little or no land improvement. 
The tenure was too uncertain to warrant the tenant's 
putting anything into the land, while on the other 
hand this uncertainty filled him with a desire to get 
everything possible out of it with the least expense 
and trouble. The result was that the poor land be- 
came poorer, until at the time now stated a great deal 
of it was not worth cultivating; and the people were 
consequently extremely poverty stricken. After 1860 
the right of contract was granted, by which the tenant 
was protected to some extent against loss for improve- 
ments made by him on his farm. This, while a small 
matter, was the beginning of a system which has re- 
sulted in the tenants' becoming owners of the land, in 
one of the most prosperous countries in the world 
to-day. 

The next Land Act was passed in 1870, and was a 
decided improvement upon the former, in that it gave 
the tenant the status to a certain degree of co-owner, 
and provided that, in case the tenant desired to pur- 
chase his land, the Government would help him to the 
extent of lending two-thirds of the purchase money, 



AND A WAY OUT 81 

which should be repaid yearly at the rate of five per 
cent, on the amount advanced. Of this provision a 
great many took advantage, who, together with those 
who later took advantage of the still more generous 
Act of 1881, amounted to 1600 tenants — while the 
amount lent by the Government under these two Acts 
amounted to about £800,000. 

In 1881 a Land Act was passed, under which the 
Government agreed to advance three-quarters of the 
purchase money; and also to make provision for the 
settling of rents, from time to time between landlord 
and tenant, by the creation of a court for hearing 
appeals for rent reduction. This Act made the land- 
lord and the tenant joint owners, and forbade any in- 
crease in rent owing to improvements made by the 
tenant. A large number availed themselves of the 
provisions of this law, and reductions of twenty and 
thirty per cent, were made in many cases. The meas- 
ure greatly helped to relieve the strain of the people, 
and to lessen the outcry against landlordism that had 
prevailed heretofore. 

In 1885 the famous "Ashbourne Act" was passed 
by which £5,000,000 were voted toward enabling 
tenants to buy their farms outright, the amount lent 
to be paid back by the borrowers in small amounts. 
As in the case of the Judicial Rents Law of 1881, 
many farmers took advantage of this generous aid 
and bought out their farms, which resulted in a new 
life and a decided interest in the care of the land and 
its improvements. A little later another £5,000,000 



82 THE IRISH TANGLE 

grant was made by Parliament for this purpose. 

In 1903 an Act, known as the "Wyndham Act," was 
passed with a view to expediting land purchase, be- 
cause under former laws landlords and tenants were 
not always willing to agree on the price to be paid, 
and, consequently, certain efforts to sell and to buy 
resulted in failure. The government now donated 
£12,000,000 for the purpose of bringing the prices 
the tenants offered for the farms up to the prices de- 
manded by the landlords, when the demand was con- 
sidered reasonable. It was provided that in future 
"estates" and not single holdings as formerly were 
to be sold; and three Commissioners were appointed 
for the carrying out of the plan. In less than five 
years the government had advanced for sales of land 
under this Act more than £80,000,000. An Act 
passed in 1909 created a relationship between the 
Congested Districts Board and the Estates Commis- 
sioners, by which definite regions should be recog- 
nized for the operations of each. 

These Land Acts have been instrumental in creating 
a new order and a new life in Ireland. The former 
tenants of more than two-thirds of the land are now 
owners of their farms; and as a result of this pro- 
prietorship, and of further government aid mentioned 
hereafter, the land is cultivated in the most modern 
fashion and yields highly-gratifying returns. The 
former landlords, whose houses and demesnes were 
secured to them, continue to live in Ireland and to in- 
vest their money in Irish enterprises. The Govern- 



AND A WAY OUT 83 

ment still continue to encourage the farmers, who have 
not done so, to buy their land, and have provided over 
£100,000,000 to be used in effecting such sales. 
What wonder then that Professor M. Bonn, of Munich 
University, should have written these words, ex- 
tremely complimentary to the Government and truly 
descriptive of the condition to-day: "The Irish tenants 
have had conditions assured to them more favorable 
than any other tenantry in the world enjoy." 

While the various Land Acts were being passed, 
and a new spirit of hopefulness and thrift was begin- 
ning to manifest itself, there came a prophet to the 
people with a message and a plan for the immediate 
betterment of the country, by what may be properly 
called "self-help," in Irish industrial and economic 
enterprises. The enunciator of this message had spent 
several years in America, where he had watched the 
development of the people, the reclaiming of land, 
and the most up-to-date systems in producing and 
marketing to the best advantage of the farmers them- 
selves; and, when he returned to Ireland, he, with a 
few supporters, evolved a plan for Ireland, which, 
although not immediately successful, in a compara- 
tively short time proved its need and its value. Sir 
Horace Plunkett, in his plan of "Co-operation" among 
farmers, inaugurated a movement in 1889 that has 
had the greatest influence for good upon the life of 
the people, and the development through self-help 
of their enormous industrial and economic resources ; 
and so highly were the results of the movement appre- 



84 THE IRISH TANGLE 

ciated abroad, that, within a few years inquiry came 
from France, Canada, the United States and other 
countries as to the ways and means of attaining these 
desirable results. In these matters Sir Horace Plun- 
kett really "put Ireland on the map," and to their 
working he has devoted practically all his life since; 
and, in view of his vision and service, it is hard to un- 
derstand that he is now without the backing of any 
political party of importance. True, like others, he 
has changed his views from time to time regarding the 
whole Irish question. In his office in Merion Square, 
Dublin, this patriot may be found year after year, 
working many hours more than the eight-hour limit 
daily, without price, and with no other end in view 
than the unity and welfare of his country; and over 
his desk there hangs a portrait of a friend, the late 
Theodore Roosevelt, who, like Sir Horace himself, 
received no small inspiration and power for the work 
to which he devoted his life, during the years he spent 
in the Western part of America. 

In those days the farmers in Ireland were going 
along in the old ways, each acting independently of the 
rest and getting all he could for the produce of his 
farm, and paying the highest price for the necessaries 
of life, farm implements, and all things necessary for 
carrying on his work. His old methods of business 
were too cumbrous and too expensive to allow of his 
entering the markets of the world, and claiming recog- 
nition of his goods, even if he possessed all the enter- 
prise possible, with a result that there were few large 



AND A WAY OUT 85 

industries throughout Ireland to encourage and de- 
velop the possibilities within Ireland's own hands. It 
was no easy matter to revolutionize a system that had 
taken such hold of the people, especially in view 
of the fact, that the effort for improvement and the 
money to effect it were not to be expected from outside 
sources but from the people themselves. 

The education along this line progressed rather 
satisfactorily after a while, and soon the farmers were 
listening to the reasonableness of the plea and pre- 
paring for active co-operation. All liked the idea of 
being able to buy their goods and implements at a 
wholesale rate, and welcomed the suggestion of using 
the best and most modem machinery; and they agreed 
that they themselves should have the profits resulting 
from their labors. To have these, and other results, 
combination was necessary; combination of effort, 
combination of product and combination of capital. 
The test of the principle, which, of course, had been 
condemned from many angles in Ireland as a plan 
which might work well in other countries but not 
there, was at length made in connection with an in- 
dustry that seemed well suited to development at the 
time, that of dairying. Already capitalists had 
erected creameries here and there to which the 
Irish farmer brought his milk — being thus relieved as 
he thought of the trouble of butter-making — and re- 
ceived such price in return as the creamery cared to 
pay. A co-operative creamery was established; a 
building was erected and equipped; stock valued at 



86 THE IRISH TANGLE 

£1.0.0 per share was taken by the farmers; whatever 
money was necessary to bring the amount realized 
from the sale of stock up to the cost of building and 
equipping was borrowed at the rate of four per cent. ; 
and the self-help movement entered upon a career of 
usefulness and profit. In the financing of new plants 
the society later borrowed whatever money was re- 
quired, above the stock sales, from joint stock banks 
organized in connection with the general plan. These 
banks also lent money to farmers at a much lower 
rate of interest than prevailed elsewhere. 

The working of the plan was made easy from the 
beginning. To the creamery, which was kept under 
the care of skilled assistants, the farmers brought their 
milk and received their price, and after the butter was 
made the buttermilk was given to them. The butter 
was sold by the creamery at the best price and in large 
quantities, and whatever money remained, after pay- 
ing the necessary expenses, was divided among the 
share-holders. In this way the farmer, and he alone, 
profited by the whole transaction. It did not take long 
to have a just appreciation of the system take root 
in the farmers' minds, and as a result co-operative 
creameries quickly appeared in many districts. The 
chief leaders now realized that the growth and de- 
mand necessitated a larger scope for activity, and a 
number of allied branches under the care of the 
parent society. 

In 1894 the "Irish Agricultural Organization So- 
ciety" was formed, and soon the co-operative move- 



AND A WAY OUT 87 

ment extended its attention to almost everything in 
connection with the farm, including agricultural so- 
cieties for purchasing farm requirements, poultry so- 
cieties, banks, home-industries and libraries. 

It is worthy of note that by the end of 1903, over 
eight hundred societies of one kind or another were 
established on the co-operative basis; 360 were 
dairy, 140 agricultural societies, nearly 200 agricul- 
tural banks, 50 home industries societies, 40 poultry 
societies, 40 others had miscellaneous objects, and 
the whole a membership of 80,000, representing some 
400,000 persons. 

Anyone interested in this movement, which has 
done so much for Ireland, should read that admir- 
able book, "Ireland in the New Century," by Sir 
Horace Plunkett; and also "Ireland of To-day," Lon- 
don Times, 1913. 

In 1891, two years after the co-operative move- 
ment was put forth, the Chief Secretary, Mr. Arthur 
Balfour, had a Bill brought into Parliament the pur- 
pose of which was to give aid to the densely settled 
parts of Ireland in securing for the people lands and 
homes in nearby districts, in improving the housing 
conditions, and in starting industries to afford employ- 
ment. In a tour made of the Northwestern parts of 
the coast line in 1890, Mr. Balfour discovered that in 
several places the population was so large that the 
land under the most efficient system of cultivation 
could not produce food enough to guarantee them 
from want, and that in certain times of the year, par- 



88 THE IRISH TANGLE 

ticularly in winter, there was really no opportunity 
of earning money owing to the dearth of industrial 
enterprise. In the Act accepted by Parliament an 
organization, known as the "Congested Districts 
Board," was created and endowed with £1,500,000, 
which came from the disestablishing of the Church 
of Ireland in 1870. The Board had the power to do 
almost anything they thought best in connection with 
the improvement of the land and the welfare of the 
people; and soon their aid reached into buying and 
selling land, improving housing conditions, estab- 
lishing local industries, fishing and cattle-raising, and 
a score of other channels, including schools for tech- 
nical instruction. Soon, however, some of the work 
of this Board was transferred to another, under whose 
jurisdiction it logically came; and the annual income 
increased from about £41,500, to £231,000 by the 
end of 1913. Teachers and demonstrators were sent 
among the people to show them how to care for the 
land and live stock, and how to rotate crops to the 
best advantage. One item of the Board's achieve- 
ments is especially noteworthy, the purchasing of 
Clare Island and the removing and locating of sev- 
eral families there on fairly-large farms at nominal 
rents. The Board spent over £150,000 in improving 
the live-stock and poultry in the district designated 
for its operations. Practical instruction was given 
to fishermen, who were helped in making and buying 
boats and tackle; classes were formed for crochet 
and lace making, for knitting, weaving; and every- 



AND A WAY OUT 89 

thing possible was done toward making the people 
self-reliant and self-sustaining. To help in the de- 
velopment of Ireland, a Light Railways Bill was 
passed by Parliament in 1895. The building of these 
railroads through the sparsely settled districts gave 
the farmer a quick, if not a very cheap, way of mar- 
keting his goods; and, also, during their construction 
gave remunerative employment to many people in 
those districts. Although these railroads have ren- 
dered great aid, yet there is room for many more, and 
for a reduction in rates for transportation throughout 
the country, no matter who provides the money. 

Since 1883 the lot of the agricultural laborer has 
been greatly improved not only in the matter of 
wages, but also in the matter of housing throughout 
Ireland. The Government in approving of all efforts 
toward providing a more comfortable home for the 
poor laborer, has advanced £9,000,000 at low in- 
terest for this object, with most gratifying results. 
Through the Rural District Councils a large part 
of this money has been spent in building about 50,000 
comfortable cottages, and providing an acre of 
ground to go with each house. These houses, slated 
or tiled, with gardens nicely kept, are a great improve- 
ment upon the thatched cabins of old and help to give 
the country a progressive and comfortable aspect. 

During the period between Mr. Gladstone's second 
Home Rule Bill and the Home Rule Bill of 1912, the 
Irish question occupied the attention of many states- 
men and others who were desirous of solving the mat- 



90 THE IRISH TANGLE 

ter at the earliest moment; and, after the General 
Election of 1895, a definite movement to this end 
was commenced by Sir Horace Plunkett in a letter 
to the Irish Press, headed: "A Proposal affecting the 
general welfare of Ireland," in which he advocated 
the uniting of all parties and creeds for the indus- 
trial development and educational advancement of 
the country. This, Sir Horace believed, would solve 
the whole difficulty, and in due time bring to the 
country whatever kind of rule the people desired. 
"We Unionists," he wrote, "without abating one jot 
of our Unionism, and we Nationalists, without abating 
one jot of our Nationalism, can each show our faith in 
the cause for which we have fought so bitterly and 
so long by sinking our party differences for our coun- 
try's good, and leaving our respective policies for the 
justification of time." This touching appeal worked; 
and in a short time men of every political party and 
creed were brought together to deliberate in their 
country's welfare. It was a wonderful and un- 
paralleled event, reminding one somewhat of the 
response given to Dean Swift's appeal when he called 
Ireland to oppose the base coinage arrangement, and 
gave great promise for the future. Inquiry regarding 
industrial and agricultural matters was instituted in 
different countries, and in due time this Committee, 
known as the "Recess Committee," suggested certain 
desirable legislation to the government. It was pro- 
posed that a new Department should be created, and 
endowed, to administer State aid to agriculture and 



AND A WAY OUT 91 

other industries, with a special minister directly re- 
sponsible to Parliament, and with a consultative com- 
mittee representing those chiefly concerned. 

Mr. Gerald Balfour, the head of the Unionist Gov- 
ernment at the time, approved most heartily of the 
plan, and soon a Bill was passed by Parliament en- 
acting the suggestions of the "Recess Committee," 
creating, "a Department of Agriculture and other 
Industries and Technical Instruction in Ireland."' 
Under the provisions of this Act several offices were 
created, and the President made responsible to Par- 
liament; a number of Boards were brought under 
the care of the Department; and the Department was 
placed in charge of the various agencies for disburs- 
ing Government aid and for meeting the peculiar re- 
quirements of various parts of the country. Differ- 
ent Boards were to look after the various industries, 
and to their care were transferred, from South Ken- 
sington, grants for Arts and Science, and the Agri- 
cultural Institutes at Glesneven and Cork. A general 
Council was created of about one hundred members, 
who meet every year for, "discussing matters of pub- 
lic interest in connection with any of the purposes of 
this Act," two-thirds of whom are appointed by the 
local County and other Councils — created about the 
same time under the Local Government Act. The 
Department has an annual income from the Govern- 
ment of £197,000, and a sinking fund of £200,000. 
The work of the Department "consists of direct aid 
to agriculture and other rural industries, and to sea 



92 THE IRISH TANGLE 

and inland fisheries," and, of indirect aid to these 
objects and also to town manufactories and com- 
merce, through education — a term which must be 
interpreted in its widest sense. In short, the work of 
the Department extends into every phase of Irish life, 
and has a most beneficial effect throughout the coun- 
try. It teaches self-help first, and secondly it puts the 
people themselves in practical control of their own 
interests and helps them to greater activity and 
success. 

While the Department just noted was being pro- 
jected, another move for Ireland's betterment was 
occupying the attention of the Prime Minister and 
Parliament. Home Rule had been badly defeated, 
and there seemed little hope to those in power for a 
measure of that kind; but there was hope for a dif- 
ferent kind of Home Rule, that would fit into, or 
help in giving administering machinery to, the Con- 
gested Districts Board and the Department of Agri- 
culture and other Industries and Technical Instruc- 
tion in Ireland, and, therefore, the Local Government 
Bill of 1908 was passed. In all efforts for construc- 
tive legislation it would be difficult to find anything 
better than these Laws, which not only met the press- 
ing needs of the hour, but also established an order 
for the ruling of different districts of Ireland by the 
people according to their wishes, and the developing 
of home resources by the people's skill, strength and 
money. 

The Local Government Act made a complete 



AND A WAY OUT 93 

change in the government of Ireland, and legislated 
out of existence the old system of Grand Juries which 
had obtained for nearly three hundred years, replac- 
ing it by a system of Local Government similar to that 
in operation in England. Nomination to office was 
generally speaking put to an end, and election sub- 
stituted. Local Boards, County, Borough and Dis- 
trict Councils were set up, and the people were given 
complete control of local matters, such as taxes, 
schools for technical instruction, laborers' cottages, 
roads, bridges, poor law matters, the election of 
guardians, dispensary doctors, nurses, magistrates, 
and the representatives on the various boards called 
into existence by the Act. This Act gave the people 
practically the same kind of Local Rule that England, 
Wales and Scotland enjoyed, and they are using its 
provisions according to their own wishes. It can no 
longer be said that they did not select their Town, 
County and District officers, for under this Act no 
one else has any right to do so. 

The Act did not come into existence without some 
opposition, however, especially from the Northern 
Unionists, who protested that if the Nationalists — 
who had the majority vote, of course — secured charge 
in local matters, the Unionists would be put out of 
office, and their interests would not receive fair rep- 
resentation. Mr. John Redmond tried to assure these 
Northern objectors "that the Nationalists would use 
all their power and influence to see it worked in a 
spirit of toleration, and of justice to all creeds and 



94 THE IRISH TANGLE 

classes, and he promised the minority a fair, and 
even a generous share of representation on the new 
bodies;" but, as events turned out, this platform was 
not put into effect to the satisfaction of the Unionists 
generally, who point out that, except in Ulster, where 
there is a slight majority in favor of the Unionists, in 
Munster, Leinster and Connaught there were only 
15 Unionists in the 24 County Councils, while there 
were 684 Nationalists. Of course, this is the result 
of the working out of Local Government by the peo- 
ple themselves, who alone are responsible for their 
choice in such matters; but it has given the Unionists 
greater strength in their opposition to Home Rule, as 
they point to Local Government Elections, as samples 
of the treatment which would be accorded them un- 
der a larger Home Rule policy. Many Irishmen, 
some of them Nationalists, greatly regret that the 
Unionists were not given a larger representation by 
the people when putting the provisions of the Local 
Government Act into operation, if for no other rea- 
son than to show the Unionists that their fears of old 
were not well grounded; but now the Unionists say, 
"See what treatment is given us by Local Government, 
and we believe that under Home Rule our treatment 
would be even worse." 

Sir Horace Plunkett has this to say on the subject: 

"To the great vista of useful patriotic work opened 

up by the Act of 1898, to the impression that a proper 

use of that Act might make on Northern opinion they 

(the Nationalist leaders) were blind," and, he goes 



AND A WAY OUT 95 

on to say, "Under any system of limited Home Rule 
questions would arise which would aflford much the 
same sort of justification for the employment of such 
methods, and they could hardly be worse for the wel- 
fare of the country than they are now" — 1904. This 
Act, like the Irish Convention which reported in 1918, 
gave Ireland a golden opportunity to work out her 
own problems without hindrance of creed or party, 
but, alas, as in the case of the Convention, the golden 
opportunity was not embraced, and men settled down 
to a more determined loyalty to party and loyalty to 
men of their own creed than had been observed for 
many years. The working out of the Act of 1898, 
instead of bringing unity and peace to the whole 
country, has resulted in driving in the old marks of 
cleavage and in encouraging bitterness and distrust. 
The matter of higher and secondary education has 
received a fair share of attention during the past 
fifty years in Ireland. In 1908 Mr. Birrell intro- 
duced a Bill into Parliament, known as the Irish 
University Bill, which brought University training 
within reach of the average man irrespective of creed 
or party. Previously there had existed in Dublin, 
since 1591, Trinity College, with a wonderful history 
of ups and downs, but for nearly two hundred years 
its doors were practically closed to Roman Catholics. 
When about 1850 Queens University was formed in 
Dublin, and Queens Colleges in Belfast, Cork and 
Galway, the Roman Catholic people did not look 
favorably upon them, although they were open to all 



96 THE IRISH TANGLE 

comers, and consequently they were not used by a 
great majority of the people. The College in Dublin 
gave place duly to another, the Royal University, 
which continued its work until Mr. Birrell's Bill of 
1908. Under the new law Trinity College remained 
as heretofore, Belfast College was placed on a special 
basis, and Dublin, Cork and Galway Colleges were 
grouped together as the National University of Ire- 
land. Each of these three Colleges is independent of 
the others, while a Senate, composed of representa- 
tives of each and chiefly Roman Catholics, govern 
their general policy. With these three Colleges May- 
nooth has been affiliated, so that in fact there are four 
distinct Colleges in the National University system. 
For the endowment of this University the British 
Government provides £74,000 per year, and provided 
£170,000 for building and equipment. It is scarcely 
necessary to state that in the National University no 
religious tests obtain, although the directing power is 
almost entirely in the hands of Roman Catholics. 
One of the subjects required in entrance examina- 
tions is the Irish language. 

In 1831 the Board of National Education was 
established after a select committee of the House of 
Commons had reported that it is "of the utmost im- 
portance to bring together children of different re- 
ligious persuasions in Ireland for the purpose of 
instructing them in the general subjects of moral and 
literary knowledge, and providing facilities for their 
religious instruction separately when differences of 



AND A WAY OUT 97 

creed render it impracticable for them to receive re- 
ligious instruction together." The plan did not suit 
any party, owing to the religious provision; and the 
whole system of primary education was condemned 
by a Commission, and by individuals, as late as 1896. 
Under the Intermediate Education Acts of 1878 and 
1899, twelve persons, six Roman Catholics and six 
others, were appointed a Board to administer the 
interest on the £1,000,000 given from the funds of 
the disestablished Church of Ireland, as grants to 
schools whose scholars attained a certain proficiency 
in public examinations conducted by members of the 
Board. This plan, too, is unsatisfactory to a large 
number, who promise to do away with the whole 
system of secondary education if ever they have an 
opportunity. Speed the day; for many believe that 
while the present system has done a great deal of 
good, it is possible to have a more advantageous sys- 
tem put in its place. After this system of elementary 
education was inaugurated the Irish language seemed 
to fall into disuse. In 1911 only 16,000 people were 
reported as speaking only that language. Mr. Doug- 
las Hyde, who has done so much toward bringing the 
Irish language again into use, has this to say on the 
subject, "The killing of the language took place under 
the eye of O'Connell and the Parliamentarians, and, 
of course, under the eye and with the sanction of the 
Catholic priesthood and prelates." It is also worthy 
of note that the Irish language had been taught in the 
schools from 1879, and that a special premium is 



98 THE IRISH TANGLE 

now paid to the teachers of this subject at the rate of 
ten shillings for each pupil, just twice as much as is 
paid for the teaching of Latin or music. Since 1901, 
"£12,000 per year has been paid for Irish teaching 
directly from Imperial funds . . . Taking 
the direct expenditure on elementary education alone, 
the State has paid for Irish teaching since 1879 a 
sum of no less than £209,000."— See T. W. Rolles- 
ton's "Ireland and Poland; a Comparison." The 
Gaelic League, founded in 1893, has accomplished 
much in popularizing the Irish language, literature, 
art and music. Its principles are non-political and 
non-sectarian; and to its chief sponsor, Mr. Douglas 
Hyde, the whole Irish people are deeply indebted. 
In writing of this movement, one of Ireland's devoted 
sons has stated, "I believe that by awakening the 
feelings of pride, self-respect, and love of country, 
based on knowledge, every department of Irish life 
will be invigorated." 



AND A WAY OUT 99 



CHAPTER VI 
Home Rule and the 1916 Rebellion 

"Home Rule" and Parnell. — The Gladstone Bills, and 
Opposition. — House of Lords disciplined. — The Asquith Bill, 
1910, and Ulster's Pledge. — Sinn Fein's Volunteers. — Ulster 
Volunteers. — Sinn Fein's beginning; and attitude toward the 
Home Rule bill. — Sinn Fein and the War. — Sir Roger Case- 
ment and Germany. — Destruction Wrought by 1916 
Rebellion. — Redmond's Volunteers. — Mr. Asquith's visit, 
and payment for damage. — The Effect of the Rebellion in 
the Empire; in Ireland; and in Germany and Austria. — Argu- 
ments for Home Rule, and the appeal to President Wilson. 
— The Ulster rejoinder, and argimients against Home Rule. 

HE term "Home Rule," first applied in 
1874 to the independence that Mr. Isaac 
Butt sought, has since been broadened 
and used so as to define complete sepa- 
ration of Ireland from the British Empire. Mr. 
Isaac Butt determined to secure semi-independence 
for Ireland by bringing a resolution to that effect be- 
fore every session of Parliament; but this method did 
not satisfy the majority of his party, and he was soon 
succeeded in leadership by Mr. Charles Stewart Par- 
nell, who had a larger idea for Ireland which he dis- 
closed in the words, now inscribed on his monument 
in Dublin, "No man has a right to fix the boundary 
to the march of a nation: no man has a right to say 
to his country, 'Thus far shalt thou go and no farther.' 
We have never attempted to fix the ne plus ultra to 




100 THE IRISH TANGLE 

the progress of Ireland's nationhood, and we never 
shall." With a view toward securing a hearing for 
Ireland in Parliament, Mr. Parnell adopted a differ- 
ent plan from Mr. Butt's, when he inaugurated an 
"obstruction" policy, which meant talking against 
time on every matter that came up for discussion, and 
thus wearying Parliament and preventing the speedy 
passage of proposed laws. In 1879 — the year of 
Mr. Pamell's rise to leadership — the Land League 
was formed, which, by boycotting and threatening, 
shooting and maiming, aimed to enroll the people in 
a solid body against the payment of rents under the 
systems then obtaining. After much violence and 
destruction had resulted from the formation of this 
society, the Government passed a "Coercion Act" by 
which they could deal with the offenders and those 
who were "reasonably suspected." Among those who 
were arrested under this law was Mr. Parnell; but 
after a time he was liberated, and the Coercion Law 
became a dead letter. 

In keeping with the policy of the Government to 
help and conciliate the people of Ireland, Lord Fred- 
erick Cavendish, who was sympathetically inclined 
toward Ireland, was sent over as Chief Secretary, 
with Mr. Thomas Burke as Under Secretary. On the 
6th of May, 1882, these two gentlemen were murdered 
in the Phoenix Park, Dublin. The whole world con- 
demned the cowardly crime, for which the assassins 
were eventually punished, and for which the country 
was again treated to Coercion Law. In the same 



AND A WAY OUT 101 

year Mr. Parnell organized the Irish National League, 
for the advancement of Home Rule and the tenants* 
desire to own the land. 

Mr. Gladstone, who had gone out of office in 1885, 
was returned to power by the General election of 
1886, and soon proposed the granting of Home Rule 
to Ireland. The Bill which he introduced provided 
for a National Parliament in Ireland, and no repre- 
sentation in the British Parliament, which accorded 
with the desires of most of the Irish Nationalists, but 
did not meet the wishes of all the Liberal-Gladstonian 
Party. A defection soon came; and those who ob- 
jected to a separate Irish Parliament became a new 
party — Liberal Unionists. The Conservative party 
then received the support of the Liberal Unionists, 
with a result that the Bill was defeated, and the 
Liberals were turned out of office. Then came the 
Plan of Campaign in Ireland, which meant the with- 
holding of rents, if the landlord failed to accept what 
the tenants considered a fair amount, and, like simi- 
lar plans, brought boycotting and lawlessness in its 
train. This condition was met by a Crimes Act, by 
which offenders were haled to court and punished. 
The Land League was soon suppressed, and several 
leaders were arrested and sent to prison. 

Mr. Gladstone's second Home Rule Bill was 
brought before Parliament in 1893. It differed from 
the former one in that Ireland was not to have an 
independent Parliament, but a Parliament for home 
matters and a fair representation in the British Par- 



102 THE IRISH TANGLE 

liament. These provisions made it more acceptable 
and secured a majority vote for it in the House of 
Commons. The House of Lords, however, rejected 
it by an overwhelming majority and in so doing rec- 
ognized the tremendous opposition that had been 
offered to its enactment, and also to the enactment of 
the one of 1886, by almost all non-Roman Catholics 
in Ireland. 

In 1886, the General Synod of the Church of Ire- 
land, two archbishops, ten bishops, two hundred and 
eight clerical and four hundred and sixteen lay dele- 
gates, representing over 600,000 through Ireland, 
passed resolutions against Home Rule, as they thought 
it would be injurious to political and religious liberty. 
The Primate, the late Dr. Alexander, discounted in 
fiery eloquence, the "assurances" and "guarantees" 
spoken of by the supporters of the bill, and stated, 
"It is the thing, not the name, we object to. Our 
gorge rises at the tartar emetic, though the Doctor 
soothingly calls it antimonial wine. We desire to 
remain an integral part of an imperial people. We 
and our fathers have lived under the shadow of a 
great tree, the stately growth of a thousand summers. 
We will not exchange it for a place under a tree which 
sophists and experimentalists have taken a fancy to 
plant head downwards, whose sure fall will crush us 
amidst the inextinguishable laughter of the world." 
The General Synod of 1893 condemned Home Rule, 
in equally strong language. The Presbyterians of 
Ireland, numbering 560,000, objected to Home Rule, 



AND A WAY OUT 103 



as did 61,000 Methodists, and thousands of others be- 
longing to different religious bodies — other than 
Roman Catholic. Of course, there were a small num- 
ber of Roman Catholics opposed to Home Rule, as 
there were a small number of non-Roman Catholics 
in favor of it; but, on the whole, Home Rule when- 
ever brought to the front has separated Ireland ac- 
cording to the religion of the people — the Roman 
Catholics on one side and the non-Roman Catholics 
on the other. With those who opposed Home Rule 
were the following distinguished bodies: Dublin 
Chamber of Commerce, Belfast Chamber of Com- 
merce, Dublin Stock Exchange, Belfast Linen Mer- 
chants' Association, Fellows of the Royal College of 
Surgeons, the Senate of Dublin University, and rep- 
resentative men in every department of business 
enterprise. The country remained in a very unset- 
tled state; and, while the late Mr. Redmond, the 
Nationalist leader, backed up by the Ancient Ordei 
of Hibernians and the United Irish League, relaxec? 
no effort both in Ireland and America, looking to« 
ward the enactment of Home Rule, the Unionist Party 
were equally active in taking steps to combat the next 
move in that direction. In the meantime the govern- 
ment, and others, were directing more attention to 
the unhappy state of Ireland, and were doing every- 
thing possible to relieve the poverty and wretched- 
ness of the country. Some of the measures adopted 
to that end have received attention in the preceding 
chapter. 



104 THE IRISH TANGLE 

During the General Election of 1910, the question 
of Home Rule for Ireland was again brought for- 
ward, and Mr. Asquith promised that, in case the 
Liberals should be returned to power they would 
grant it. This statement was not made, however, 
until two-thirds of the candidates had been elected. 
The political affiliations of the members when Parlia- 
ment convened were as follows: Liberal, 272; 
Labor, 42; Nationalist, 84; Unionist, 272. From 
these figures it is clear that the Liberal Party needed, 
besides the Labor vote, the Irish Nationalist vote to 
remain in power. The balance of power, therefore, 
held by the Irish members told greatly in the laws 
that followed. 

The Parliament Act, by which the House of Lords 
ceased to hold the veto of any act of Parliament that 
had, within two years, during three successive ses- 
sions, thrice passed in the House of Commons, came 
into operation in 1911, as a disciplinary measure for 
the House of Lords who had disapproved of the 1893 
Home Rule Bill. By this measure, and the holding 
of the balance of power, the Nationalist Party be- 
lieved that nothing could prevent them from having 
a Home Rule measure passed, except, possibly, the 
refusal of the Liberals to carry out their pledge, and 
lost no time in preparing the desired law. On the 
11th of April, 1912, a new Home Rule Bill was 
brought before the House of Commons, conferring 
almost total independence on the two houses of the 
Irish Parliament — to be created; and making pro- 



AND A WAY OUT 105 

vision for a representation of forty-two Irish mem- 
bers in the British Parliament. A definite and gen- 
erous financial plan for Ireland's welfare was also 
contemplated; but, strange to say, the Bill was not 
received with favor by any political party in Ireland. 
The Nationalists, led by Mr. William O'Brien, disap- 
proved of it, the All-Nationalist Central County 
Council condemned it, and the Unionists flatly refused 
to accept it. The Northern Unionists, under the 
leadership of Sir Edward Carson, pledged themselves 
to do everything to prevent its enforcement, and be- 
gan immediately to form an organization bound by 
a solemn covenant, "to defeat the present conspiracy 
to set up a Home Rule Parliament in Ireland, and in 
the event of such a parliament being forced upon us 
to refuse to recognize its authority." 
Few know how many enrolled in this society, which 
afterwards became known as the Ulster Volunteers — 
of whom a large number joined the Ulster Division 
on the declaration of war and went to France and 
Flanders, where they gave a good account of them- 
selves; but everyone who reads the newspapers knows 
that drilling and arming went on quickly, in prepara- 
tion for any act that would compel them to separate 
from the United Kingdom. 

In 1913 the Sinn Fein, too, decided to organize a 
body of young men who should be equal to the Ulster 
Volunteers and on whom they could depend if need 
arose. Accordingly there came into existence the 
National Volunteers, who drilled and armed openly 



i06 THE IRISH TANGLE 

without fear or molestation, and funds for the move- 
ment came from all parts of the country and from 
America. The late Mr. John Redmond took cog- 
nizance of the affairs of the National Volunteers at 
this juncture, and, while he had had no connection 
with the Sinn Feiners who directed the Volunteers, 
decided to have a voice in their government, hoping, 
doubtless, to check the revolutionary tactics for which 
the leaders were noted. He applied to the "Provi- 
sional Committee" to have twenty-five of his sup- 
porters admitted to the board of directors, and, while 
his demand was resented, after much discussion his 
representatives were duly admitted. The Volunteers 
increased in numbers, secured arms by every means 
possible, and it is estimated that about one hundred 
thousand men had been enrolled by July, 1914. 

The outbreak of the great war seemed to obscure 
all other issues, and the interest of Parliament and 
the British Empire was at once centered upon the 
duties then forced upon them. The Home Rule Bill 
passed through the requisite channels and duly re- 
ceived the Royal assent, but it was not to come into 
effect before six months after the end of the war, when 
an Amending Bill regarding Ulster's future should 
accompany it. The Ulster Volunteers, no longer 
thinking of Ulster in particular, but of the world in 
general, offered their service to the Government, 
which was accepted, and they were sent across the 
sea to stem the tide of destruction and to hold the 
enemy at bay until England should be in a position 



AND A WAY OUT 107 

to supplement their efforts. There is no greater tes- 
timony to the courage and sacrifice of these men than 
that borne in "The Case for Ireland Re-stated," page 
33, by one who never had any sympathy whatever 
with the Ulster Volunteers. After quoting Sir Ed- 
ward Carson's words when bidding them good-bye on 
their departure for service abroad: "Go out and win 
glory for Ulster," he goes on to say, "that is just what 
they did do, for no country ever yielded to the 
supreme sacrifice a braver set of men than these same 
Ulster Volunteers proved themselves to be in the great 
world war." 

The late Mr. John Redmond then offered the serv- 
ice of the National Volunteers, to be used in defend- 
ing Ireland from a foreign attack, but not to be used 
out of the country. This offer for obvious reasons 
was not accepted by the Government. It must be 
noted that the offer of home service for the National 
Volunteers and Mr. Redmond's subsequent activity 
in recruiting did not come, until he had secure the pas- 
sage of the Home Rule Bill by Parliament and the ap- 
proval of the King. Mr. Redmond felt, and urged upon 
Parliament, that, if Home Rule were given to Ireland 
then, all Ireland would unite and show their loyalty 
and appreciation by helping the Empire to the utmost 
of their ability in the war. Although Mr. Redmond 
and many of his party leaders at this time came out 
boldly for voluntary enlistment of Irishmen, and 
stumped the country, with gratifying results, in aid 
of recruiting, yet some of the leaders of the National 



108 THE IRISH TANGLE 

Volunteers evinced an antagonistic attitude, with a 
result that a split occurred, and part held to the 
original leaders and part held to Mr. Redmond. 
Those who followed Mr. Redmond's leadership be- 
came known as the Irish Volunteers, who in later 
days stood firmly by the government. 

The "Sinn Fein," meaning ourselves alone, which 
was a Young Ireland Movement, began in a most laud- 
able way about fourteen years ago, and soon drew 
to their support men of various political leanings and 
of many forms of religious belief. They succeeded 
because in the early days they laid emphasis on Ire- 
land's possibilities in industry, Ireland's history, 
Ireland's language and tradition ; and they proclaimed 
that it was possible through a right use and apprecia- 
tion of all that Ireland possessed to make her a happy 
and successful nation. This platform of guiding 
principles was not necessarily new; long before Irish- 
men with prophetic vision had seen and advocated the 
possibilities of Ireland, if her children would only 
make the most of them. Dean Swift's effort along 
this line met with little encouragement, but the ef- 
fort of the Gaelic League ond other societies has 
succeeded to a great degree, and the educational work 
undertaken by them has already had most helpful 
results. After a brief time the Sinn Fein laid less em- 
phasis on educational work and more emphasis on 
political affairs. Fault was found with the Imperial 
Parliament, and ridicule was aimed at those Irish rep- 
resentatives who attended its sessions and accepted 



AND A WAY OUT 109 

the salary given for such attendance. Suggestions 
were made that Irish Consuls representing Ireland 
should be sent to the large ports of the world, and 
that Ireland should cut herself free from outside in- 
terference and make her own way in the world. The 
Sinn Fein soon had a newspaper of their own, in 
which their teachings and aspirations were set forth, 
and in which England received no small amount of 
unfavorable mention. The Sinn Fein started a bank, 
and some of their followers were elected to the Cor- 
poration of Dublin. The Sinn Fein became more and 
more a puzzle to all the political parties in Ireland, 
receiving only scant recognition from any of the old 
established parties; and, while their growth was slow 
but sure, little attention was given to them or their 
methods in the daily newspapers for many years. 

When the 1912 Home Rule Bill was being pushed 
through Parliament, the Sinn Fein seemed rather 
desirous of accepting it and making it also accept- 
able to their fellow countrymen in the North, 
but their plans to this end came to nothing. When 
the war came, however, the Sinn Fein got a larger view 
of what they should have, and they now hoped that 
through the war they would come into their greatest 
desire, the complete separation of Ireland from the 
Empire. From this goal, then decreed, they have 
not swerved. 

When there appeared to be little hope of their at- 
taining this goal in the early days of the war, the Sinn 
Fein became distinctly anti-British and pro-German, 



no THE IRISH TANGLE 

and their newspaper was consequently suppressed. 
On the other hand, the Nationalist party, and their 
newspaper, at the beginning of the war warmly sup- 
ported the cause for which the Allies were fighting. 
In the meantime the Sinn Fein had taken other means 
of getting their views before the reading public, and 
continued one method after another to this end without 
any great interference from the Government. The 
Volunteers, too, who had held by the party, went 
about the streets in uniform carrying arms, and no 
one interfered with them. Then came the arrest of 
Sir Roger Casement, who had been intriguing with 
Germany for the invasion of Ireland; the sinking of 
the German vessel carrying arms for the National 
Volunteers; and, finally, the plan for open rebellion 
in Ireland, which began on the Monday in Easter 
Week, 1916. 

The details of the 1916 rebellion are well known 
and need not be detailed at any length here. Anyone 
unfamiliar with that rising should read Mr. John F. 
Boyle's "The Irish Rebellion of 1916," which is an 
able presentation of the whole affair. It must appear, 
however, to the average mind that, while the rebellion 
took the world by surprise, the persons leading the 
movement never took any great pains to keep their 
desires to themselves and that they had worked out 
the plan of action with great care and ability. There 
was some hitch, however, in the date set for the upris- 
ing, for while Dublin was attacked on the Monday of 
that famous week, other parts of Ireland were not 



AND A WAY OUT 111 

openly captured until two and three days later. Dublin 
suffered greatly from the uprising, many persons 
were killed and many were disabled for life; some of 
the finest buildings were burned and others were al- 
most razed to the ground ; the loss in trade and money 
was enormous ; and the loss of the friendship and sup- 
port of those in the British Empire and elsewhere for 
Ireland's welfare cannot be overestimated. British 
soldiers soon took charge of the country, and in de- 
feating the revolutionists received every support from 
the late Mr. Redmond's Irish Volunteers; and the 
Irish Republic, which had cast its flag to the breeze a 
few days before, ceased to exist except in the thoughts 
of its adherents. The Declaration of Independence 
issued by the leaders of the movement is a wonderful 
document, but unfortunately it links the support given 
by Irishmen in America with that of Sinn Fein's "gal- 
lant allies in Europe." 

Martial law was proclaimed after the outbreak of 
the rebellion. This gave the military authorities com- 
pete control of the enforcement of law; and soon the 
leaders of the rebellion were arrested, tried and pun- 
ished. The stern measures used by the military in 
the suppression of the Rebellion were not approved 
by the Nationalist Party, one of whom suggested that 
there should be no more trials of the offenders and 
that martial law should be withdrawn. The feeling 
in Ireland became very intense, and Mr. Asquith an- 
nounced in Parliament that he would go to Ireland 
to try to work out some plan of settlement agreeable 



112 THE IRISH TANGLE 

to all parties. Mr. Asquith did go to Ireland, and 
after a tour of inspection of the havoc wrought by the 
Rebellion and a series of conferences with various 
leaders in the chief cities, intimated that a solution 
of the whole matter might come at any time. The 
solution of the question of damages caused by the 
revolution, the only solution that came from Mr. 
Asquith's trip, was very acceptable to all concerned. 
It did unite them on that point. Why not? The British 
Government paid the very large damage bill, which, 
for damages, was based upon the liabilities to which 
any first rate insurance company would have been re- 
sponsible had its insured property been destroyed by 
fire. 

Immediately after the Rebellion in Ireland, public 
opinion in the British Empire and elsewhere seemed 
to hold the Government and their representatives in 
Ireland responsible for not having dealt with the mat- 
ter before its results were felt, and as a result of much 
adverse criticism the Lord Lieutenant, Lord Wim- 
borne; the Chief Secretary, Mr. Birrell, and the Un- 
der Secretary, Sir Matthew Nathan, resigned. At the 
same time the indignation of the loyalists against the 
revolutionists was to be found on all sides. Consid- 
ering the favorable laws that had been passed for 
Ireland during the previous fifty years and the grants 
of money that had been made to her for one purpose 
or another, the great bulk of British people felt that 
the uprising in Ireland during a war which demanded 
everything that England could produce was the basest 



AND A WAY OUT 113 

kind of ingratitude and treachery, and many who had 
previously favored Ireland now turned their backs 
upon her and refused to listen to her claims. Eng- 
lishmen pointed out that the Home Rule Bill which 
they had supported, instead of bringing Ireland heart 
and soul into the war, had actually helped to put 
Ireland in arms against the Empire; and that the 
exempting of Ireland from conscription, when Eng- 
land was forced to conscript her sons, simply gave 
Ireland an opportunity to harass the Empire in her 
most trying days. Canada, Australia, New Zealand 
and South Africa, that had been doing so much for 
the cause for which the Empire fought, received the 
news of Ireland's uprising with the greatest amaze- 
hient and disapproval. 

A great number of the people in Ireland of all 
classes thoroughly disapproved of the rebellion, many 
of the Roman Catholic clergy condemned it, as did 
nearly all the other clergy. A resolution passed by 
Nationalists in New Ross on May 5th is worthy of 
notice : 

"That we, the New Ross Board of Guardians, 
hereby, in the strongest possible manner, condemn 
the action of the Sinn Fein organization and citizen 
army in their outrageous, disgraceful and black- 
guardly conduct at present carried on by them in the 
rioting and looting in Dublin and elsewhere; and we 
as a Nationalist Board entirely dissociate ourselves 
with such disgraceful and unworthy scenes, the more 
so at a time when our Empire and our Allies are in- 



114 THE IRISH TANGLE 

volved in one of the greatest struggles for freedom 
the world has ever known: and we regard the present 
conduct as an insult to our brave and gallant Irish- 
men who have sealed the common bond between Eng- 
land and Ireland by shedding their blood on the 
battlefields of Flanders and other scenes of action. 
That we pass this resolution to show the responsible 
parties for the present crisis in Ireland are of the 
irresponsible class and so that the action of the loyal 
subjects cannot be misinterpreted by our Empire or 
our Allies. It is also resolved that we place implicit 
faith and trust in oiir able leader, Mr. John Redmond, 
and his party, and we unreservedly place ourselves in 
his hands, knowing full well that with the assistance 
of the Irish Party he will carefully and consistently 
watch over the interests of the Irish people so that by 
reason of the acts of these worse than Hun parties the 
whole Irish race will not be disgraced and branded as 
traitors. That copies of this resolution be forwarded 
to the Lord Lieutenant, the Chief Secretary, Mr. Red- 
mond, and all the Irish leaders." 

The late Mr. John Redmond was terribly morti- 
fied by the Rebellion, which he described as a "wicked 
move," and "not half as much treason to the cause of 
the Allies as treason to the cause of Home Rule," and, 
"So far as Germany's share in it is concerned, it is a 
German invasion of Ireland, as brutal, as selfish, as 
cynical as Germany's invasion of Belgium." 

The news of the Irish Rebellion was quickly flashed 
through Germany and Austria, where it was pointed 



AND A WAY OUT 115 

out that England would now surely lose the war owing 
to internal strife in Ireland, where a large army would 
be required to keep the country in line. It was also 
circulated in the enemy press that there were rebel- 
lions in South Africa and other British possessions, 
which would draw British attention and strength from 
the theatre of war to home defence, with a result that 
they must come into victory much sooner than they 
had expected. The Rebellion, beyond doubt, gave 
the enemy a basis on which to build a good story for 
home consumption, and soon the people were being 
taught — and many of them believed it, too — that the 
whole of Ireland was engaged in revolutionary war, 
and that Irishmen were volunteering for service un- 
der the German flag against the Allies. 

The enemy press omitted to state, however, that 
the aid promised Ireland by Germany had not ar- 
rived, and that the cargo of arms intended for the 
revolutionists had been sent to the bottom of the sea 
by the British navy. 

The chief arguments for and against Home Rule, 
as set forth by the chief exponents of each side, are 
worthy of consideration here. In the "Case of Ire- 
land Re-stated," prepared by Mr. E. de Valera and 
the Mansion House Conference as their reasons for 
opposing conscription in Ireland and forwarded to 
the President of the United States, April 18, 1918, 
we have all the arguments that have been used in 
favor of Home Rule. After referring to Ireland's 
part in the American War of Independence, and the 



116 THE IRISH TANGLE 

passing of the Conscription Act for Ireland, "in the 
fourth year of a war ostensibly begun for the de- 
fence of small nations," without Ireland's approval, 
they assert Ireland's sovereignty and her right to self- 
determination. The various steps in Ireland's history 
that seem pertinent are mentioned, from the time 
Pope Hadrian IV.'s Bull, 1155, granted Ireland to 
Henry II. down to the present; and it is pointed out 
that during all the time of English sway, and espe- 
cially since the Union, that Ireland has been severely 
dealt with, and that the 8th Article of the Treaty, as 
follows, has not been kept: "All laws in force at 
the time of the Union shall remain as now by law 
established, subject only to such alterations and regu- 
lations from time to time as circumstances may ap- 
pear to the Parliament of the United Kingdom to 
require." It is stated that "the Territorial military 
system created in 1907 for Great Britain was not set 
up in Ireland," and that various naval and military 
acts were never extended to Ireland; that the privi- 
lege to bear arms in self-defence has been refused; 
that free speech has been hindered ; and that Coercion 
Acts have embittered the people. It is pointed out 
how emigration, which was made possible in many 
cases through grants of money from the Government, 
has reduced the population, and that Ireland has been 
burdened with "increased taxation, stunted indus- 
tries, swollen emigration and callous officialism" 
since the Union. The failure of the Government to 
carry into effect the recent Home Rule Bill, the valor 



AND A WAY OUT 117 

of Irishmen in the war, and the failure of the Irish 
Convention receive due notice. America's entry into 
the war, "because her rights as a neutral, in respect 
to ocean navigation, were interfered with, and only 
then," is referred to; and, it is stated that, "What 
Ireland is to give a free Ireland must determine." 
Reference is made to the oversight of the British navy 
along the Irish coast, to prevent aid reaching the 
enemy from this source, and of the effort of the man 
who tried to land from a German submarine on the 
West coast on April 12th last. The committee con- 
clude with an appeal "not to be condemned for a de- 
termination, which is irrevocable to continue stead- 
fastly in the course mapped out for her (Ireland), 
no matter what the odds, by an unexampled unity of 
National judgment and National right." 

The Ulster people, led by Sir Edward Carson, took 
cognizance of the effort of the Nationalists to excuse 
their attitude toward conscription before "the bar of 
civilized, and especially American, opinion," and at 
a meeting held in Belfast on August 1st, 1918, issued 
an important rejoinder, which was forwarded to the 
President of the United States. 

The reason for issuing the rejoinder is given as 
"The document (of the Nationalists) referred to 
would give to anyone not familiar with British do- 
mestic affairs the impression that it represents the 
unanimous opinion of Irishmen . . . This is 
very far from being the case." The minority repre- 
sented by the signers, comprising from one-fourth to 

8 



118 THE IRISH TANGLE 

one-third of the whole of Ireland, have maintained 
"that the same obligations should in all respects be 
borne by Ireland as by Great Britain; and it has 
caused them as Irishmen a keen sense of shame that 
their country has not submitted to this equality of 
sacrifice." It is pointed out that the present is not 
a time for discussing the faults of the past, whether 
well or ill founded, but a time for "whole-hearted 
co-operation against the common enemy." It is, how- 
ever, noted that the reference made by the National- 
ists to the part played by Irishmen in the American 
War of Independence does not give credit to Ulster, 
from which one-sixth of the whole Colonial popula- 
tion before the Declaration of Independence had gone 
as emigrants. Reference is made to Ulster's indus- 
tries and to the importance of a continuance of the 
Union, as "under no other system of government 
could more complete liberty be enjoyed by the Irish 
people;" and it "regards wholly unwarranted the 
theory that our political status affords any sort of 
parallel to that of the 'small nations' oppressed by 
alien rule, and for whose emancipation the Allied 
democracies are fighting in this war." It is further 
stated that, whereas Engand has only "one member 
of Parliament for every 75,000 of population and 
Scotland one for every 65,000, Ireland has one for 
every 42,000 of her people." Reference is made to 
a speech made by the late Mr. Redmond in Dublin in 
1915, in which he praised the whole conditions sur- 
rounding the Irish people, "who," said he, "own the 



AND A WAY OUT 119 

soil," and have "absolute freedom in local govern- 
ment and local taxation in the comitry. Today we 
have the widest parliamentary and mmiicipal fran- 
chise: the congested districts have been transformed." 
As to self-determination, it is stated that it was the 
opposition of the Nationalists which "prevented the 
question of Irish government being settled in accord- 
ance with that principle in 1916. The British Gov- 
ernment were prepared at that time to bring the Home 
Rule Act of 1914 into immediate operation, if the 
Nationalists had consented to exclude from its scope 
the distinctively Protestant population of the North, 
who desired to adhere to the Union." The Nationalists 
wanted "self-determination for themselves combined 
with coercive domination over us." Reference is 
made to the relationship existing between some of the 
signers of the Mansion House Document and Ger- 
many, and to the support given by the clergy of the 
Roman Catholic Church to the anti-conscription move- 
ment. The document is brought to a close with a 
statement that no sacrifice is too great to "make the 
world safe for democracy," and "poignant regret that 
the conduct of the Nationalist leaders in refusing to 
lay aside matters of domestic dispute, in order to put 
forth the whole strength of the country against Ger- 
many, should have cast a stain on the good name of 
Ireland." 

Other objections to Home Rule are equally impor- 
tant in the estimation of the minority in Ireland. 
Their objection lest their religious liberty might be 



120 THE IRISH TANGLE 

interfered with is practically stated in the following 
resolution of the Presbyterians in 1912: "We have 
no desire to coerce the consciences of our Roman 
Catholic fellow-countrymen or to deprive them of any 
of their rights, civil or ecclesiastical, and we in turn 
most absolutely refuse to have our civil and religious 
liberties placed under their control." In advocating 
this, they point out that under the Local Government 
Act as the Councils now stand little representation 
is given to the minority, and that under a larger meas- 
ure of Home Rule they would probably fare worse. 

Another objection has to do with the possibility of 
Ireland's becoming an enemy base, in case of Eng- 
land's entering into war with any other nation. Ire- 
land's history shows that in former days France and 
Spain and Germany actually attacked British power 
from Ireland; and in the future there would be no 
way of guaranteeing against a recurrence of those 
acts. In support of this contention the loyalists quote 
Admiral Mahan, who said some years ago: "The am- 
bition of Irish Separatists, if realized, would be even 
more threatening to the national life of Great Britain 
than the secession of the South was to the American 
Union. It would be deadlier also to Imperial aspira- 
tions; for Ireland by geographical position lies across 
and controls the communications of Great Britain with 
all the^outside world, save only that considerable, but 
far from preponderant, portion which borders the 
North Sea and the Baltic. Independent and hostile, 
it would manacle Great Britain . . . The 



ANDAWAYOUT 121 



Irish question, therefore, is vitally important not 
only to Great Britain, but also to the Colonies." 

The argument is advanced against Home Rule that 
capitalists of the Unionist Party would withdraw their 
capital from Irish industries and invest it elsewhere, 
where stability of government would be an induce- 
ment; and, also, that many industries, would be taken 
immediately from Ireland to England and Scotland. 
The argument that Ireland has as much Home Rule 
as England, Scotland and Wales has been touched on 
already. There are other arguments advanced, but 
these are of minor importance. 



122 THE IRISH TANGLE 



CHAPTER VII 

Attitude in the War and the Irish Convention 

Army unprepared. — The Navy and Admiral Sims. — Volun- 
teers. — Ireland's first aid to the Kingdom. — Her contribu- 
tion. — Reasons for later aloofness. — Mr. Bonar Law's 
"Monroe Doctrine" — Conscription, and England's Labor 
Unions. — Anti-conscription in Ireland, and the loyal support 
of many. — Cork Red Cross work. — What Americans in Ire- 
land did. — The Irish Convention's task. — Personnel. — Failure 
to agree. — Reports. — Sinn Fein and the General Election. — 
Note by two members of the Irish Convention. 

HE great war found a large portion of 
the world almost entirely unprepared, 
although seers, soldiers and statesmen, 
here and there, described gathering 
clouds on the political horizon that portended con- 
flict. To the appeal of Lord Roberts for national de- 
fence and war preparation the British Empire turned 
a deaf ear, with a result that in August, 1914, Eng- 
land had only a small army and comparatively speak- 
ing no war material. Before the war, Germany kept 26 
soldiers for every 2,600 persons of her inhabitants, 
while the British Empire kept only 3 soldiers for 
every 2,600 of her inhabitants. The fighting force of 
the British Army in August, 1914, amounted to 
250,000 Regulars, 200,000 Reservists, and 250,000 
Territorials — or Volunteers, making the grand total 
700,000 men to care for her whole territory and give 




AND A WAY OUT 123 

battle to any enemy. , Of course, the British Navy 
have counted tremendously at all times, and never 
more so than in the memorable days of August, 1914, 
when they bottled-up the German Fleet and by their 
quick action then, and constant vigilance afterward, 
aided, in due time, by the Allied and American Navy, 
have kept the sea open to Allied, but practically 
closed to enemy, use. Just think of it, by the middle 
of August an Expeditionary Force of 160,000 men 
had been landed in France from England ; and, of the 
5,041,000 men who up to May, 1916, had enlisted 
voluntarily, no less than 3,000,000 of these had been 
taken to the fighting line in different countries before 
October, 1917. Admiral Sims, of the American Navy, 
did not overestimate the value of the British Navy 
when he stated, at a luncheon given to the American 
press representatives visiting Great Britain, "If a 
catastrophe should happen to the British Grand Fleet, 
there is no power on earth that can save us, for then 
the German High Seas Fleet can come out and sweep 
the seas. The British Grand Fleet is the foundation 
stone of the cause of the whole of the Allies." 

The war, as stated, technically found the world un- 
prepared for the gigantic struggle through which it 
had to pass; but it did not find the people indifferent 
to their citizenship or callous to the calls for aid from 
their brethren, who were in the first instance forced 
to feel the ravages and horrors that had been foisted 
on them under the name "war." The volunteers, 
100,000 of them, who responded to Lord Kitchener's 



124 THE IRISH TANGLE 

call of August 8th, the 175,000 who responded a 
month later, and the 2,000,000 who, within a year, 
left England's shores for the fighting line, prove that 
the spirit was there, and that the people were pre- 
pared for any sacrifice asked of them. A like spirit 
showed itself all over the British Empire, as men 
rushed to the colors to do their best for the land of 
whose traditions they had always felt proud. This is 
not the place to expatiate upon the loyalty and 
prowess shown by every part of the British Empire in 
the trying days of the war, but it is proper to note the 
unanimity with which all parts of the Empire em- 
braced the opportunity to do their best toward a 
speedy and conclusive victory. When the war broke 
out many Irishmen responded to the call of arms; 
several, men and women alike undertook different 
kinds of war-work and many families voluntarily 
adopted ,the system of war-rationing. Under the 
leadership of the late Mr. John Redmond, who had 
been assured that Home Rule would be put into execu- 
tion by the government, several distinguished persons 
held meetings throughout Ireland in aid of volun- 
tary enlistment, and the success of their efforts soon 
became evident on all sides. Irishmen did respond: 
and Irishmen did go forth to war with the zeal and 
determination for which they have ever been re- 
nowned, in the most trying days of the year 1914 — 
and the following year. Why not? The war was 
theirs: their Parliamentary representatives had so 
decreed: their relatives in other lands were going 



AND A WAY OUT 125 

forth to preserve the world, and why should not they? 
It was the most natural thing in the world that Ireland 
should have come into the war at once; and what she 
has done toward winning the war may be learned to 
some extent from the following: In the "Report on 
Recruiting in Ireland," presented to Parliament on 
January 14, 1916, it is stated that before the war 
there were 20,780 Irishmen in the Army, 17,804 in 
the Reserve, and 12,462 in the Special Reserve, mak- 
ing a total of 51,046. Between the outbreak of the 
war and the ninth of October, 1915, including the men 
in the tenth, the thirty-sixth and the sixteenth new 
divisions, 75,293 Irishmen had joined the colors, 
who, with the 51,046 enrolled before the war, brought 
the total of Ireland's fighting strength in the army up 
to 126,339 men. A Department Recruiting Cam- 
paign was then organized to keep Ireland's now fifty- 
two battalions up to war strength, which resulted in 
the enrolment of an average of 1,063 men every week 
for seven weeks previous to December 18, 1915. It 
was estimated that, about this time, there were 
416,409 unmarried men of military age in Ireland; 
and that 252,000 of these were engaged in connection 
with agriculture, which was counted as a public serv- 
ice. The report states "That the percentage of men 
between twenty and forty-five, per hundred acres of 
all crops in England and Wales, was 3.6, Scotland 3.1, 
and Ireland 6.8" from which it is reasoned that "a 
considerable number might be deducted without re- 
ducing the number of hands below the figure at which 



126 THE IRISH TANGLE 

it is found suitable to engage in farming in Great 
Britain." Between October 10, 1915, and January 
8, 1916, 10,984 men had joined the colors, bringing 
the total enlistments in Ireland, from August 2, 1914, 
to January 8, 1916, up to 86,277. The pre-war en- 
listments, 51,046, added to this number give a total 
of 137,323 army men. Add to this number 5,100 
serving in the Navy before the war, and 3,446 who 
enlisted during the war, and a total of 145,869 is 
obtained. Between January 8, 1916, and the close of 
the war, a period of almost three years, Ireland fur- 
nished only 32,350 to the army and navy, which 
brought her total contribution of men, including the 
56,146 serving in pre-war days, up to 178,219. This 
number represents about three per cent of the Roman 
Catholic population, and about six per cent of the 
non-Roman Catholic population. 

From these figures it is evident that up to the be- 
ginning of 1916 there was a fair response to the re- 
cruiting appeal in Ireland; and that from that time 
to the end of the war the response was by every 
standard pitiful and unworthy. Let us note a few of 
the reasons for Ireland's failure, especially in the last 
two years of the war, to put forth the best efforts of a 
united nation toward overcoming the Empire's — and 
the World's— foe. 

It is generally understood that many in Ireland 
responded to the call to arms believing that the Home 
Rule Bill would be put into operation without great 



AND A WAY OUT 127 

delay, and this would have become operative, if the 
war had been brought to a close earlier, under the 
law already noted; but when 1916 came, and with it 
the realization of the impossibility of putting Home 
Rule into immediate effect the Irish people became 
more impatient, and interest in recruiting began to 
wane. The Government at this point made a strong 
effort to have the Irish people agree to some terms 
among themselves, so that the strain might be re- 
lieved; but the Home Rule which would have suited 
the majority in pre-war days was not now sufficient — 
the majority declined partition — and the Government 
felt that Ulster, whose interest and help in the war had 
not flagged, should not be compelled to accept an 
order of Government which, to her at least, was thor- 
oughly distasteful. The Sinn Fein at this juncture mus- 
tered their forces, and, after agreeing with Germany 
on a plan of action, inaugurated a Rebellion in Ire- 
land. Many who heretofore had stood aloof, began 
now to look upon the Sinn Fein with favor, and event- 
ually decided to cast their lot in with the new move- 
ment of hate against England. The 1916 Rebellion was 
put down ; but the Sinn Fein have grown until at present 
they have over seventy members elected to Parliament 
— who, owing to a condition of their nomination and 
election, do not attend at Westminster, however. Nor 
is that all; these gentlemen assembled in Dublin 
early in the year (1919) and proclaimed that an 
Irish Republic now exists, and »iisavowed all allegiance 
to the British Empire. The Government allowed the 



128 THE IRISH TANGLE 

meeting to take place, which was rather a surprise to 
those present, and certain persons were suggested as 
delegates to the Peace Conference, upon which their 
hopes and efforts were now centered. Efforts have 
been made to get the Irish case before the Peace Con- 
ference, by appeals to the President of the United 
States and to the people of America generally, but 
without avail. When Mr. Dillon threatened Parlia- 
ment with this move, during the debate on Irish Sepa- 
ration early in November, 1918, Mr. Bonar Law set 
forth in unmistakable terms, which reminds one of 
the "Monroe Doctrine," the British point of view on 
this and like subjects. "I do not believe," he said, 
"that one man in a hundred in any part of Great 
Britain would tolerate the idea that Irish settlement is 
to be dictated to us by anybody outside the British Em- 
pire." To this doctrine the British Empire is 
pledged, and, needless to state, this doctrine is being 
respected everywhere. 

The disturbance and agitation caused through these 
matters brought the old party difficulties to the front 
again, and made the outlook for anything like gen- 
eral Home Rule for Ireland very dubious. 

The opposition to the application of the proposed 
conscription law to Ireland evoked a great deal of dis- 
cussion both abroad and at home, and the represen- 
tatives of Irishmen in Parliament succeeded in hav- 
ing Ireland excluded from its provisions. Mr. de 
Valera, Mr. Dillon, and the Mansion House Con- 
ference in their appeal to President Wilson objected 



AND A WAY OUT 129 

to the manner in which Ireland had been discrimi- 
nated against, and excluded from the operation of cer- 
tain laws passed by the British Parliament. They 
stated, "British military statecraft has hitherto rigidly 
held by a separate tradition for Ireland" — the charge 
is noted in the preceding chapter — but they might 
have added also, that, Ireland had been unfairly ex- 
cluded from the law which conscripted England in 
1916. There is no question that a large number of 
the Irish people have always disapproved of the "pre- 
ferred" treatment accorded them by the Government; 
and never was that disapproval more plainly shown 
than in connection with the non-application of war 
laws and rules, operative in other parts of the British 
Empire, to Ireland. 

Why was Ireland excluded from the Conscription 
law of 1916? We turn to the early days of the war, 
and note that even then a strong demand was made 
throughout England for conscription as the only fair 
method of calling up the country's men for active 
service; but this argument was answered by those op- 
posed to conscription, who pointed to the numbers of 
young men who were showing their loyalty by "join- 
ing up" everywhere, and reminded those in favor of 
Conscription that old England was a free country as 
she had always been. We are not considering which 
method was best then — everyone knows now, nor are 
we mindful of the Derby Plan and its success — all 
we are interested in now is to what extent the atti- 
tude of England toward conscription in the early 



130 THE IRISH TANGLE 

days of the war affected the attitude of Ireland 
toward conscription later. Conscription was post- 
poned in the early days of the war owing to the oppo- 
sition that was shown in many quarters; and the Labor 
Party, above all others, really decided the question for 
England by a determined opposition. This does 
not suggest any question as to the loyalty of 
those men; far from it, for all the English Labor 
leaders that the writer has had the pleasure of meet- 
ing, both in America and in England, were loyal and 
true to the Empire, and every one of them had made 
great sacrifices toward winning the war. The Labor 
policy, however, resented the very thought of con- 
scription either for the army or the industries con- 
nected with the war; and Mr. W. A. Appleton, Secre- 
tary, General Federation of Trade Unions, in two 
pamphlets, one entitled "Labor and Compulsory 
Service," June, 1915, and the other, "War and Con- 
scription," showed the dangers of conscription, as he 
saw it, to labor, to the country and to the war. In 
the first mentioned pamphlet he stated, "Has anyone 
counted the cost of applying compulsion to the work- 
ing classes of Great Britain? . . . Have they ever 
calculated the effect compulsion would have upon the 
relationships existing between people and Government 
and between people and the crown; . . . Seven- 
eighths of our immunity from the troubles which be- 
set other nations is due to the fact that we are free." 
In the second mentioned pamphlet he stated, "Pay 
the army properly, provide for its derelicts — this is 



AND A WAY OUT 131 

only justice — but let the people of this country remain 
free. If they are to be enslaved it matters not who are 
their masters, or under what flag they exist." There 
is no sounder Britisher in the Empire than the writer 
of the above, nor one, I venture to think, who is in 
closer touch with the laboring man and his needs and 
hopes, yet he felt that he was leading and influencing 
labor in the very best direction when he wrote the 
above. Other Labor leaders sounded similar warn- 
ings, and, consequently, conscription was not put into 
force in England until 1916. 

When the 1916 Conscription Bill was before Par- 
liament, the Irish Nationalist representatives opposed 
it on similar grounds to those which had succeeded in 
England early in the war; and, as in the case of the 
English objectors, strange to say, the government 
listened to the arguments, that Irishmen should not be 
compelled, and that the voluntary plan had not failed. 
This was most unfortunate for the war, and also for 
Ireland. If conscription had been decreed in the 
early stages of the war, for Great Britain and Ireland, 
notwithstanding opposition, it may be that the war 
would have terminated much sooner than it did, and 
Ireland in all probability would have accepted con- 
scription without question and thus might have 
escaped the Rebellion and its results. Or, if Ireland 
had been included in the 1916 Conscription order, 
it is very likely that her sons would have responded 
to the call to service, and saved the country from the 
stigma of not having done her full part in the great 



132 THE IRISH TANGLE 

war. Ireland, if conscripted in 1916, would have 
held her place of honor among the nations of the 
world, and would have retained the support and good 
will of her children and friends in every quarter of 
the world. 

After the events of Easter week, 1916, the support 
heretofore given to recruiting by the Nationalist 
leaders was virtually withdrawn, and while they con- 
demned the Sinn Fein for the turmoil into which they 
had plunged the country, and, consequently, for en- 
dangering Ireland's chances of Home Rule from any 
point of view, they did little or nothing to allay the 
unrest and restore the former feeling of interest and 
partial co-operation in the war. Meanwhile, the Sinn 
Fein became more aggressive ; and after the failure of 
the Irish Convention to agree on a policy, and the gov- 
ernment's decision as a last resort to apply conscrip- 
tion to Ireland in the early part of 1918, lawlessness 
again broke out in Ireland. Many of the bishops and 
clergy of the Roman Catholic Church now entered 
into the movement to oppose conscription, and the Sinn 
Fein for the first time — as they had been rather anti- 
clerical in the beginning — received generally speak- 
ing the full endorsement of that church. The Mansion 
House Conference, in which were representatives of 
Labor and political organizations, decided to oppose 
conscription on the eighteenth of April; and on the 
same day at Maynooth College the Hierarchy of the 
Roman Catholic Church declared the conscription law 
to be, "an oppressive and inhuman law, which the 



AND A WAY OUT 133 

Irish people have a right to resist by all means that 
are consonant with the law of God." Anti-conscrip- 
tion pledges were issued by the clergy; speeches 
against conscription were made in almost every dis- 
trict; and many women pledged themselves not to 
take the places of those who might be forced into 
service. This decided, to a large measure, the fate 
of voluntary recruiting; and it helped to alienate Ire- 
land's interest in the war. Who after these pro- 
nouncements dare speak in favor of conscription? 
Who dare encourage voluntary enlistment? The 
largest and most important political body, and the 
largest church in Ireland, had authoritatively and 
openly disapproved of the Government's decision to 
apply a law to Ireland that had been in operation for 
two years in England; and while these bodies did 
not directly oppose voluntary enlistment, yet a great 
many misunderstood the situation, and in pledging 
against conscription felt that they were pledging 
against voluntary enlistment also. This became very 
clear to the committee that later tried to encourage 
voluntary service. 

The generally unsettled condition of Ireland dur- 
ing the last two years greatly helped to keep Ireland 
detached from the war. Rioting, destroying prop- 
erty, mutilating cattle, burning houses, and night 
raids for the purpose of securing firearms from those 
who were not in favor of the majority party, were 
quite common and kept the minds of all in a state of 
perturbation. A new German plot was also reported 



134 THE IRISH TANGLE 

to have been discovered in Ireland, and many politi- 
cal leaders and others chiefly connected with it were 
arrested quietly and removed to places of detention 
outside the country. Ireland, too, it should be re- 
membered, was making a great deal of money owing 
to the war, and this helped to divert the attention of 
some from their duty to the country to their own 
material welfare. Credit, however, is due to many 
in Ireland for the noble and self-sacrificing work done 
by them in aid of the Allied cause, ever since the 
outbreak of hostilities. Apart from the willing 
service rendered by many men and women at various 
points of the war area, the willing and helpful serv- 
ice of men and women at home, in almost every dis- 
trict of Ireland, calls for the highest praise. If the 
majority allowed that golden opportunity for service 
to pass by without doing great things for their fel- 
lows and their country, the minority, on the other 
hand, never ceased to labor for the relief of the suf- 
fering and the steady prosecution of the task to which 
the Empire had dedicated herself. The loyal women 
of Ireland, as the loyal women of America, were to be 
found daily in their Red Cross work-rooms, in the 
hospitals, in the gardens, running automobiles and 
doing all sorts of work to help the Allied world ta- 
ward victory and peace. 

As an illustration of the kind of work done by those 
people, the following extracts from the 1917 Report 
of the Cork County Branch of the British Red Cross 
Society will prove interesting. This report is a fair 



AND A WAY OUT 135 

sample of the activities carried on in various parts of 
Ireland under the same auspices. 

"British Red Cross Society 
{Cork County Branch.) 

President, the Countess of Bandon; Vice-President, 
the Lady Barrymore; County Director, Arthur W. 
Winder, LL.D.; County Treasurer, Miss A. K. Gub- 
bins; County Secretary, Mrs. Ada M. Winder; Gen- 
eral Committee, Mrs. Sharman Crawford, Mrs. Doran, 
Mrs. Dowse, Mrs. Dring, Mrs. Emerson, Mrs. Hartopp 
Gubbins, Miss Maud Gubbins, Mrs. James Murphy, 
Mrs. Starkie, Miss Voysey, Mrs. Leigh-White, Lady 
Windle; Comforts Sub-Committee, Mrs. Hughes, 
Mrs. Peacocke, Mrs. Winder. Needlework Depart- 
ment: This department was first opened in April, 
1915, under the management of Mrs. Hartopp Gub- 
bins and Miss Maud Gubbins. The year 1917 has 
seen an output of 20,269 garments — including work 
of allied branches. Comforts Department: The 
Sub-Committee of the 'Comforts' Fund have carried 
on satisfactory work throughout the year. They have 
received many generous contributions of eggs, fruit, 
vegetables, cakes, sweets, flowers, books, games, and 
magazines, which they have distributed amongst the 
wounded men in the Civil and Military hospitals. 
They have also received most liberal contributions of 
money. This has been utilized for the purpose of 
purchasing tobacco, cigarettes, pipes, and daily 



136 THE IRISH TANGLE 

papers, which have been distributed amongst the men, 
so that throughout the entire year each wounded man 
in hospital has received a regular weekly supply of 
'smokes,' amounting in all to 235,738 cigarettes and 
486 pounds of tobacco. A large number of the pa- 
tients have also been provided with pipes, whilst 
every ward in the different hospitals has received 
each day copies of the Irish and English papers, and 
any men wishing to do fancy work have been supplied 
with materials by the Misses Chillingworth, Mrs. H. 
Longfield or Mrs. Winder. In addition to this the 
Christmas dinners of the men in the different hos- 
pitals were largely supplemented with such luxuries 
as turkeys, hams, mince pies, cakes and fruit. The 
following ladies assist the Sub-Committee in visiting 
the various hospitals: Mrs. Austin, Mrs. Charles 
Beale, Mrs. Broadley, Misses Chillingworth, Mrs. 
Conron, Mrs. Dowse, Miss Goldie, Miss N. Gregg, 
Mrs. Hartopp Gubbins, Miss M. Gubbins, Mrs. H. 
Longfield, Mrs. Pike, Miss Scott. National Egg Col- 
lection Department: This department, which is un- 
der the charge of Mrs. James Murphy, assisted by 
Mrs. T. A. Howe and Mrs. Fitz-James Murphy, was 
established in 1915, and the receiving depot, which 
is situated at 11 King Street, Cork, is open on Tues- 
day and Saturday mornings. Supplies of eggs for 
the use of our sick and wounded soldiers are regu- 
larly received in this depot, and are carefully packed 
and despatched, some to the Cork Military Hospital, 
some to St. Anne's Convalescent Home, some to the 



AND A WAY OUT 137 

city hospitals (in which wounded are being treated), 
and the remainder to the Central Depot, London, for 
distribution among the base hospitals in France. Dur- 
ing the year 1917 the large number of 86,048 eggs 
was received and despatched." 

The treatment accorded to the American Army and 
Navy men stationed in Ireland is well known. In 
many of the towns visited by the Rev. H. H. Pringle, 
who did excellent work for the Y. M. C. A. over 
there, he found that the people were entertaining the 
men in their homes, and altogether showing a decided 
interest in their welfare. In Dublin, several Amer- 
ican ladies, including Mrs. E. C. Adams, the wife of 
the American Consul, and Miss Sinclair Egan and 
Miss Cecilia Egan of Rathgar, opened a club room 
off Grafton Street, where tea was served every after- 
noon, and newspapers, magazines and writing mate- 
rial were provided for American soldiers and sailors. 
Many availed themselves of this boon, and in the fu- 
ture America will have a new fount in which to 
draw for accurate information regarding Ireland and 
her people. 

On the 16th of May, 1917, the Prime Minister ad- 
dressed a letter to the late Mr. John Redmond, in- 
forming him that the Government were anxious to 
have the Irish difficulties adjusted if possible, and 
suggesting two methods of achieving that end; first, 
a "Bill for the immediate application of the Home 
Rule Act to Ireland, but excluding therefrom the six 
Counties of Northeast Ulster;" second, a Convention 



138 THE IRISH TANGLE 

of Irishmen "for the purpose of drafting a Constitu- 
tion for their country . . . which should 
secure a just balance of all the opposing interests." 
Ulster was willing to accept either plan. To the lat- 
ter suggestion Mr. Redmond consented; and in due 
time a most representative body, known as the Irish 
Convention, were organized, and charged "to submit 
to the British Government a constitution for the future 
government of Ireland within the Empire." 

The Report of the Proceedings of the Irish Con- 
vention states: "Invitations were sent to the Chairmen 
of the thirty-three County Councils, the Lord Mayors 
or Mayors of six County Buroughs, whilst the Chair- 
men of the Urban Councils throughout Ireland were 
requested to appoint eight representatives, two from 
each Province. The Irish Parliamentary Party, the 
Ulster Parliamentary Party and the Irish Unionist 
Alliance were each invited to nominate five repre- 
sentatives. An invitation was extended to the Roman 
Catholic Hierarchy to appoint four representatives; 
the Archbishop of Armagh and the Archbishop of 
Dublin were appointed to represent the Church of 
Ireland; and the Moderator of the General Assembly 
to represent the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. In- 
vitations were also extended to the Chairmen of the 
Chambers of Commerce of Dublin, Belfast and 
Cork, and to labor organizations, and the representa- 
tive peers of Ireland were invited to select two of 
their number." Of these, only one County Council 
Chairman declined to accept the invitation. The Sinn 



AND A WAY OUT 139 

Fein Party declined, as did the AU-for-Ireland Party, 
and the Trades Councils of Dublin and Cork. 

"Subsequently, in addition to one member selected 
to represent the Trades and Labor Council of Bel- 
fast, six persons were appointed to represent various 
labor organizations, and fifteen other persons were 
nominated by the Government, making the total mem- 
bership of the Convention ninety-five. During the 
course of its proceedings the Convention lost three of 
its members by death (Sir Henry Blake, Mr. Red- 
mond and Sir Alexander McDowell), and two by 
resignation (Mr. Lysaght and Mr. Russell), which 
reduced the number to ninety." 

In calling this distinguished group together to work 
for Ireland's welfare, and not for party aggrandize- 
ment, the Prime Minister, or his advisers, were per- 
haps influenced by the great achievements of that 
other body of distinguished Irishmen, already men- 
tioned, known as the Recess Committee — who laid 
a broad and strong foundation for Home Rule and 
Industrial Development in Ireland. Doubtless those 
in authority believed that at last the sure and safe 
way toward a settlement had been discovered when 
Mr. Lloyd George called those ninety Irish gentle- 
men together, and handed over the baffling Irish prob- 
lem to them with the injunction, "settle it among your- 
selves." And here it may be noted that although the 
difficulty was not quite solved by the Convention, yet 
Mr. Lloyd George deserves credit for one of the mas- 
ter strokes of his career, in handing the whole matter 



140 THE IRISH TANGLE 

over to the people of Ireland themselves for solution. 

The first meeting of the Convention took place on 
July 25th, 1917, and the last on April 5th, 1918. 
During the time they were in session the Convention 
decided not to give any information, as to their pro- 
ceedings or the results attained at the different meet- 
ings to the public through the press; but when the 
findings were made public very few were astonished, 
as it had been predicted on all sides that no agreement 
could possibly be reached on the essential matters of 
that difficult question. 

The president of the Convention, Sir Horace 
Plunkett, in the "Letter of Transmission," states that 
before completing the task assigned to them "every 
possibility of agreement had been explored;" but 
when it appeared that agreement could not be reached, 
the Majority Report, the Ulster Unionists' Report, 
the Nationalist Minority Report, the Note of the Pro- 
vost of Trinity College and the Primate of all Ireland, 
the Note of the Majority of the Labor Rep- 
resentatives, the Note of the Earl of Dunraven and 
the Note by Southern Unionists were duly set forth. 
The Majority Report was ordered to be presented to 
His Majesty's Government by a majority of seven, 
42 voted in favor and 35 voted against; while the 
Majority Report itself was adopted by a majority of 
fifteen, 44 voted in favor and 29 against. It was of 
this report that the President of the Convention 
stated, "Notwithstanding the difficulties with which 
we were surrounded, a larger measure of agreement 



AND A WAY OUT 141 

has been reached upon the principle and details of 
Irish self-government than has ever yet been at- 
tained." From the Minority Reports one is in- 
clined to feel, however, that the prospects of a satis- 
factory settlement were never very bright; and on 
the two questions most debated, Ulster and Excise, 
there never was any decided approach to settlement. 
The Majority Report postponed final action on Cus- 
toms and Excise; and, "at the same time each party 
has put on record, in separate notes subjoined to the 
Report, its claims respecting the final settlement of 
the question." The scheme of government recom- 
mended provided "a Parliament for the whole of Ire- 
land, with an Executive responsible to it," and control 
of internal affairs. Customs and Excise to remain 
under the Imperial Parliament and to be administered 
by a joint Exchequer Board, for the present: Parlia- 
ment to consist of the King, an Irish Senate of 64 
members and an Irish House of Commons of 200. 
Representation of Ireland in the Imperial Parliament 
to consist of 42 members. 

The Report of the Ulster Delegates opens by 
protesting against the implication in the Majority 
Report "that a measure of agreement regarding Irish 
self-government was attained, which in fact was not 
the case, as is evidenced by the record of the divi- 
sion. The provisional conclusions on minor matters 
were strictly contingent on agreement on 
the vital issues. These were fundamental — and upon 
them no agreement was at any time visible." The 



142 THE IRISH TANGLE 

Report reviews the situation in Ireland before 1914, 
and mentions that Ulster, through the Amending Bill, 
was to be excluded from the Home Rule Act; it also 
notes the willingness of Ulster Unionists to consider 
any plan making for the welfare of the people and 
the Imperial Parliament, and due mention is given 
to the part taken by Ulster Unionists in the war. 
Then, after dealing with various questions on which 
Ulstermen could not agree with the Nationalists, the 
Report states, "We regret that instead of proposals 
being made to remove our objections, the policy pur- 
sued by the Nationalists in the Convention strength- 
ened our opinion that Home Rule would intensify 
existing divisions in Ireland and prove a constant 
menace to the Empire. Had we thought that the ma- 
jority of the Convention intended to demand, not the 
subordinate powers contained in the previous Home 
Rule Bill, but what is tantamount to full national in- 
dependence, we could not have agreed to enter the 
Convention." The Report points out that "a most 
remarkable situation arose in the Convention when 
a vote was taken on the proposals to adjourn the pro- 
ceedings until an assurance was received from the 
Government that they would promptly take effective 
steps to restore law and order and repress outrage 
throughout Ireland. Fifty Nationalist members voted 
against that proposal, and thirty-three members, in- 
cluding the Ulster Unionists, voted for it." 

The Report of the Minority Nationalists states that, 
"there has been no sure means of knowing how far it 



AND A WAY OUT 143 

(the Convention) exhibited the mind and will of Ire- 
land at the present time, even as regards the parties 
officially represented in it, nor any guarantee that its 
decisions, independently of suggestions made by the 
Government, would take effect in law. The Sinn Fein 
organization stood altogether aloof." Reference is 
made to the efforts of the Southern Unionists toward 
solving the problems; and to their determination to 
hold to the Imperial control of Customs, while the 
Nationalists as tenaciously held the opposite view. 
A "Dominion Parliament" is here advocated, 
although provision is made for Irish representatives 
in the British Parliament, and that foreign relations 
and imperial matters should still remain with the 
Imperial Parliament. The Report concludes with a 
plea that "Land Purchase should be completed on 
terms equitable alike to landlord and tenant: that the 
administration should be Irish, and that the full cost 
of Land Purchase, past and future, should be borne 
by the Irish Government, on the understanding that it 
is reckoned as part of Ireland's contribution to Im- 
perial service. Happily, no serious difference of 
opinion has arisen in the Convention on the proposals 
framed by the able Committee which dealt with Land 
Purchase." It may be interesting to state here what 
The Spectator, London, of November 9, 1918, has to 
say on the Irish Convention. After paying attention 
to the Irish Debate in Parliament on the previous 
Tuesday, during which certain questions that had 
been asked by Mr. Samuel two years before, regard- 



- 144 THE IRISH TANGLE 

ing the attitude of Irish members toward Ulster, 
were quoted, it proceeds, "One thing that can 
be said about it (the Irish Convention) is that it gave 
no answers to these questions, or to any other of the 
vital points connected with the Irish problem. It was 
vocal on superficial, dumb on fundamental points. If 
we remember rightly, it was, indeed, unanimous on 
only one specific and practical point — a suggestion 
for increased grants to Ireland by the taxpayers of 
England and Scotland." It is worthy of note here, for 
it exemplifies, farther, the diverse opinions of the 
people regarding what they want, that, as T. W. 
Rolleston states in his recent work, "Ireland's Van- 
ishing Opportunity," "only thirty per cent of the elec- 
torate actually voted for Sinn Fein" at the recent Gen- 
eral Election. The Irish Convention concluded its work, 
and the President presented the Majority Report to 
the Prime Minister on April 9, 1918. This was a 
most serious time for the Empire and her Allies, as 
Germany was putting forward a stupendous effort to 
win the war, and was driving the French and English 
back, hoping soon to have Paris and the Channel 
forts well under control. On the other hand Ameri- 
can soldiers were arriving in France in thousands, and 
England was calling up her citizens of almost all ages 
to help in the terrible battle that was being fought. 
On the very day that the Irish Convention reported, 
the Prime Minister announced in Parliament that con- 
scription would be applied to Ireland. Then a new 
outcry against British Rule was raised in Ireland; 



AND A WAY OUT 145 

the Sinn Fein soon held their Convention and framed 
the appeal to President Wilson already mentioned : the 
Roman Catholic Hierarchy condemned the proposal 
of applying conscription to Ireland: anti-conscription 
pledges were taken by those who expected to come 
within the law: and a new era of lawlessness broke 
out all over the country. The Report of the Majority 
of the Convention now ceased to have interest for any 
section of the Irish people; and as for the people of 
the Empire, outside of Ireland, Ireland's claims and 
riotings during those terrible days of the war evoked 
nothing but disapproval and contempt. 

The Note by the Provost of Trinity College and the 
Primate of all Ireland given here: "We have not 
found it possible to vote for the conclusion reached 
by the majority of the members of this Convention. 
It involves, in our opinion, either of two alternatives: 
(1). The coercion of Ulster, which is unthinkable. 
(2). The partition of Ireland, which would be dis- 
astrous. We have more than once put forward a Fed- 
eral Scheme based on the Swiss or Canadian prece- 
dent, which might ensure a United Ireland with pro- 
vincial autonomy for Ulster, or any other Province 
that desired it. This scheme would also be capable of 
being adapted to some larger scheme of Imperial 
Federation for the whole British Empire. 

J. P. Mahaffy, Provost of Trinity College. 
John B. Armagh, Primate." 



146 THE IRISH TANGLE 

The Convention failed in their efforts to "frame a 
Constitution for Ireland within the Empire" accept- 
able even to the members themselves; but they un- 
wittingly succeeded in developing a larger and more 
tolerant insight of one another's views. If they did 
not achieve that unity of spirit which crowned the 
labors of the members of the Recess Committee, it 
must be remembered that they had to do with political 
matters chiefly, whereas the Recess Committee had to 
do with economic and industrial affairs. 



ANDAWAYOUT 147 




CHAPTER VIII 
The Irish Recruiting Council 

Patriotic effort to ward off conscription. — Arduous work 
of the Council. — Newspaper accounts of two meetings in the 
Sligo Area. — Reasons for the failure of the Council to attain 
their goal. — Bishop Dowse on Ireland's Lost Opportunity. 

HE disbanding of the Irish Convention, 
the determination of the Government to 
apply conscription to Ireland, and the 
anti-conscription movement, together with 
a decided mirest among the people, caused many 
lovers of Ireland the gravest anxiety for the future of 
the country. Many plans for solving the new diffi- 
culty were suggested; but most of them simply advo- 
cated the putting into operation of some of the old 
schemes of Home Rule, which already had been 
rejected by one or more of the parties interested, and, 
so, did not receive the approval of the people in 
authority. While preparatory arrangements were 
being made for applying the Military Service Bill to 
Ireland, a number of prominent Nationalists met in 
Dublin and decided to make an effort to win Ireland 
to the cause of the war, and thus to ward off the dis- 
grace of conscription and to give the people generally 
their old status in the estimation of the world. The 
plan decided upon embraced an effort by Irishmen 



148 THE IRISH TANGLE 

themselves to secure among their fellow-countrymen 
a certain number of men through voluntary enlist- 
ment, which, although not in proportion to the eligible 
manhood, would obviate the necessity of the enforce- 
ment of conscription. These gentlemen brought their 
plan to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, who on be- 
half of the Government promised to keep the con- 
scription law in abeyance until October, and to help 
the committee in every way to secure the quota of 
50,000 volunteers for military service. Accordingly, 
offices were engaged in the cities and larger towns; the 
whole country was divided into several recruiting 
areas; and military officers and others were sent from 
various points to assist the civilian committee. An 
advertising campaign was inaugurated; and a strong 
plea was made to all Irishmen to come to the support 
of the movement. Many men of all sections of the 
country and of different political leanings responded 
most willingly, and soon the work of the Irish Recruit- 
ing Council was known all over the world. It was a 
movement full of opportunity and privilege, and one 
that promised in its inception not only to secure the 
50,000 men asked for by Lord French, and thus to 
ward off conscription, but also to unite the country in 
aid of the Allied cause, and to give the people of 
Ireland what they otherwise could not hope to 
receive, the prospect of the right of way to the Peace 
Conference. 

Everyone interested in Ireland's welfare must feel 
grateful to the Irish Recruiting Council for the won- 



AND A WAY OUT 149 

derful eflfort they, and hundreds of others who co- 
operated with them, put forth in those trying and anx- 
ious days. There was no sacrifice too great for these, 
when Ireland's fair name and the future of the world 
were concerned. They traveled all over the country 
holding meetings, and pleading with their fellow- 
countrymen to come forward to the aid of the Empire 
and the Allies: they besought the leaders of different 
parties to encourage those who looked to them for 
counsel to come forward as volunteers; and they con- 
sulted those in authority, in the hope of securing their 
sympathy and co-operation. Statistics will never 
show what they accomplished: but some day their 
work will be appreciated by their countrymen and 
their names will stand out in history among the 
greatest patriots, for by their clear vision and con- 
secrated service they have added lustre to the record 
of Ireland's achievements. 

The following account of two recruiting meetings 
held in the Sligo Area under the direction of Captain 
Stephen Gwynn, M.P., President of the Irish Recruit- 
ing Council, and Major J. Murphy, Chief Recruiting 
Officer for that district, illustrates the kind of work that 
was carried on during the recruiting campaign, and 
the interest and co-operation of the people themselves. 
It is from the Sligo Independent, of Saturday, Sept- 
ember 7, 1918: 

10 



150 THE IRISH TANGLE 

"Striking Appeals by American Minister, Na- 
tionalist M.P., Irish Officers and Local Patri- 
otic Citizens at Sligo. 

Within the past few weeks the Victoria Hotel, 
Sligo, has been transformed into headquarters for the 
area comprising these three counties. A large staff 
of officers and N.C.O.'s are daily awaiting recruits 
for the different branches of the Service — the Army, 
the Navy, the Air Force, and even Queen Mary's 
Army Auxiliary Corps. 

Major Murphy, Boyle, who has been one of the 
most successful recruiting officers in Ireland, and 
Lieut. Fagan are in charge of recruiting for the Army, 
while the Navy is well represented by Petty Officer 
Vemaw. The recording official is Lieut. Husband, 
and Mr. C. C. Dignan, Sub-Sheriff of Roscommon, is 
in charge of propaganda. Dr. Jones is head of the 
Medical Board. Another important officer is Major 
Newton. These gentlemen comprise the principal 
members of the staff, and each is doing his part to 
make this great voluntary effort as successful as it is 
possible for organization to make it. Indeed, it is an 
admirable staff. 

The entire organization is under the control of 
Major Newton, who has been seriously wounded dur- 
ing the war. He is a marvelous organizer, and the 
right man for Sligo, because he is possessed of the 
qualities which go to make him a favorite with the 
people. 



AND A WAY OUT 151 

But there is one officer, namely, Major Murphy, 
who deserves particular mention. Since the com- 
mencement of the war he has thrown his heart and 
soul into the promotion of voluntary recruiting, and 
it is largely through his popularity that Sligo holds 
such a high place as compared with other centers 
for the large percentage of men which it has sent to 
the colors. Indeed, Major Murphy has been inde- 
fatigable in his efforts to encourage the young men 
to do their duty in this great crisis. He feels it is in 
the best interests of Ireland that the young men should 
come forward voluntarily. 

On Tuesday a great voluntary campaign was in- 
augurated so far as this area is concerned, and con- 
tinued throughout the week. During the coming 
weeks it is hoped to extend the campaign to every dis- 
trict of the area, and it is hoped Major Murphy will 
receive the co-operation of the general public and the 
speakers freedom of speech. 

Meeting on the Sligo Fair Green, Impressive 
Speech by Mr. J. J. Nelson, J.P. America's 
Opinion on Ireland. 

The first meeting was held on the Sligo Fair Green 
after 12 o'clock on Tuesday, and considering the set- 
back which recruiting has received within the past 
twelve months, the meeting might be characterized as 
a very successful one. A brass band of the K.O.S.B., 
comprising some very young but excellent instru- 



152 THE IRISH TANGLE 

mentalists, having arrived the previous evening, 
paraded the principal streets of the town prior to the 
meeting. It being fair day, they attracted consider- 
able attention, and on taking up a position in the 
center of the Fair Green they were surrounded by 
quite a crowd. After a short time Capt. Gwynn, M.P. 
for Galway, Rev. T. C. Johnson, of the United States, 
and Mr. Murphy, L.G. Inspector, accompanied by 
Major Murphy and other members of the local re- 
cruiting staff, arrived and mounted a large char-a- 
banc in waiting. Amongst the crowd a small group 
of young Sinn Feiners were noticed. However, it is 
only fair to say that they did not appear to be alto- 
gether hostile, and to the credit of the Sinn Feiners 
there was no organized opposition to any of the 
speakers. 

On the proposition of Mr. Alex. Lyons, solicitor, 
seconded by Mr. John Keating, the chair was taken 
by Mr. J. J. Nelson, J.P. 

How Irishmen Fought in the Days of Napoleon 

The Chairman said at that great crisis in their his- 
tory they were assembled there together that day to 
hold a meeting in support of the great principles of 
voluntary effort in the war. Let them make no mis- 
take about it. That meeting was not a conscription 
meeting. On the contrary, it was an honest effort to 
avoid the bane of conscription, and it depended upon 
the youth of the country at the present time whether 
they availed themselves of that fair and reasonable 



AND A WAY OUT 153 

effort that was being made to them to provide the 
small quota of 50,000 men from the millions that 
inhabited Ireland today. The efforts that were being 
made on behalf of voluntary recruiting were for Ire- 
land's honor. He (Mr. Nelson) had been asked to 
preside at that meeting in the unavoidable absence of 
His Majesty's Lieutenant of the county. Major 
O'Hara. Therefore, he did not wish to intrude upon 
the domain of the speakers who would follow him. 
As chairman of the meeting he would simply an- 
nounce their names, but he would suggest to them 
himself that up to the present Ireland reaped nothing 
but advantages from the war. Everybody that had 
produce to sell had the value increased three, five and 
sixfold, and associated with the question of voluntary 
recruiting, was the question of family honor. There 
were many men present long past middle life like 
himself — who, in their early years read the fiction 
writings of Charles Lever and John Barrington, which 
told them of the early years of the nineteenth cen- 
tury when the great struggle for European liberty 
was being made against the tyranny of Napoleon, 
that the youth of Ireland sacrificed themselves on 
the fields of France and Flanders, and also on the 
Peninsula. And was it to be said that in that tremen- 
dous struggle for European liberty the people of Ire- 
land refrained from sending that small proportion of 
their manhood until they were taken from them? He 
urged every man present to take it home to himself 
that day, turn it over in his own mind, and ask him- 



154 THE IRISH TANGLE 

self the question — 'Is not the honor of my family at 
stake; or is it not my duty to send at least one repre- 
sentative out to the trenches?' If he did so he would 
come to the conclusion that it was his duty to be rep- 
resented in that great struggle, which was the great- 
est the world had ever seen. Concluding, he asked 
for a fair hearing for the other speakers. (Applause.) 



Why America Did Not Enter the War Sooner 

Rev. T. C. Johnson, of Brooklyn, U. S. A., who 
met with a cordial reception, at the outset explained 
why he was there. He had not been sent from Amer- 
ica to speak to theem; but the Recruiting Council, 
hearing that he was in Ireland, conscripted him. He 
was bom and bred in Ireland, but he was able to tell 
them of America's part in the war. First of all he 
wished to tell them the reasons why America did not 
come into the war at once. Since her earliest history 
America had the watchword (and it was a great watch- 
word for every man and woman as well as a nation), 
'Mind your own business.' America thought it was 
none of her business to get herself entangled with 
the business of Europe. She also said to Europe, 
'Mind your own business.' America wanted to be 
free, and she remained out of the war to try and keep 
that watchword which had been handed down to her 
for over 100 years. There was another reason why 
America did not enter the war at once. That was in 



ANDAWAYOUT 155 



the interest of the business of the country. America 
wanted to produce munitions for the Allies, and also 
food, in addition to Red Cross supplies and workers. 
At length she came into the war because her citizens 
had been assaulted and thousands sent to the bot- 
tom of the sea. They all remembered the people 
drowned off Cork Harbor. Some people told him 
they never could forget the sad sights they witnessed 
in West Cork, where women were washed ashore with 
their babes clasped in their arms. Think of the terr- 
ible Lusitania disaster. When the Irish heart was 
touched — and they couldn't touch the Irish heart more 
than by the brutal murder of innocent women and 
children — no sacrifice was too great. America want- 
ed to be at the Peace Conference, so that she would 
have more power to mediate between conflicting 
nations, that was another reason why she kept her neu- 
trality so long, although many of her people wanted 
to be in the war from the very beginning. Men, 
women and children stood up and pledged their loy- 
alty to the cause of justice, righteousness, and victory. 
(Applause.) Men were eventually asked to serve, 
and a procession which marched down that great 
street. Fifth Avenue, in New York, comprised men 
from every nation under heaven. There were Ne- 
groes, Indians, Jews and Germans. 
Crying to the Irish 
Here, Mr. Andrew Gaffney, who had traveled 
many lands, shouted out — 'And Sligo men, too.' 
(Laughter.) 



156 THE IRISH TANGLE 

The speaker (continuing) said that was right. 
There were Sligo men, too, and not only Sligo men, 
but also men from every corner of Ireland. He saw 
that old green flag with its golden harp floating in 
the breeze on behalf of the Allied cause. (Ap- 
plause.) To-day Irishmen were butted in the United 
States because the people of Ireland were not sup- 
porting the Allied cause to the full extent. They were 
crying, 'For God's sake, tell the Irish to come in and 
prove that they still believe in righteousness, justice, 
and equity for all men.' (Applause.) Referring to 
the gigantic efforts that were being made by America 
in the matter of men and ships, the speaker said 
they could count the former by the million and the 
latter by hundreds. He didn't care whether the cen- 
sor heard that or not. They were going to keep it up 
until the Germans cried for mercy. (A Voice — 'You 
have done it already.') (Applause.) Proceeding, 
the speaker mentioned the old 69th Regiment in New 
York, remarking that the sons of Ireland were in it. 

Mr. Andrew Gaff"ney interjected — 'There is a son 
of mine in that army.' 

Never Knew Defeat 

The history of that regiment, the speaker went on, 
had been decked with glory and honor. It was 
formed when the United States gathered itself to- 
gether, and the best men from Ireland fought in it 
and won. Irishmen never knew defeat. There was 



AND A WAY OUT 157 

no turning back with the Irish when they set their 
face in the proper direction. 

Continuing, the speaker quoted the opinion of 
Shackleton, the great explorer, regarding the splen- 
did qualities of the Irishmen during his expedition, 
and referred to the part that they played under Wel- 
lington, who also had the Irish spirit. That great 
general drove the enemy almost into the sea because 
he had an Irish regiment. When America required 
the Irish they rallied to the colors. A Voice — 'And 
they have done it today.' Irish people in America 
were very anxious that the people at home should sup- 
port them generously. A Voice — 'It is only fair.' 
They wanted the Irish people to come into the war 
with greater determination and vim than they had 
already shown, and take their places beside their 
Allies and fight for the independence of the 
world. Irishmen drove the Crown Prince's Army 
across the Ourcq River, and they were not sat- 
isfied but followed after them. Concluding, the 
speaker produced a small flag representing the Stars 
and Stripes of America, and waving the emblem, re- 
marked amid applause, 'We will drive the Germans 
across the Rhine, and carry this flag into Berlin and 
hoist it upon the highest castle there.' 

Straight Talking by Capt. Gwynn 

Captain Gwynn, M.P. (Galway), said he was 
there that day to speak, not as a member of Parlia- 



158 THE IRISH TANGLE 

ment, but as a Connaught Ranger. He was also there 
that day because he was one of the one hundred thou- 
sand Irishmen who had volunteered to defend the 
honor of Ireland. If it had not been for that one 
hundred thousand men who had joined up they would 
have had conscription in Ireland years ago. What 
he was asking for was that men should come as vol 
unteers and stand between them and conscription 
for which the country was not willing. He was al 
ways of opinion that conscription should not be en 
forced in Ireland except by a Parliament of its own 
That was one reason why he was always against con 
scription. However, he could tell them that those 
who advised them that they were not going to have 
conscription if the voluntary recruiting scheme failed 
were giving wrong advice. He told them in all hon- 
esty of conviction that unless the people of Sligo, 
Leitrim and Roscommon contributed their 1,600 men 
they would have conscription, and then there would 
be a greater number of men taken than from the three 
counties. Continuing, the speaker said let him tell 
them what day that was. It was the 3d of September. 
It might not mean much to them. But it meant a 
great deal to the Irish Division. That division went 
out in December, 1915, and for a long time they were 
engaged in trench warfare on the front of Loos. Some 
fine men died there. He had seen the bravery of 
Sligo men there, and better men he never asked to 
see. (Applause.) On the 3d of September, 1916, 
the division moved into the trenches in front of 



AND A WAY OUT 159 

Guillemont, which had been unsuccessfully attacked 
seven times by other regiments and other divisions. 
On that occasion the Connaught Rangers were in front. 
It was there one of the Connaughts gained the Vic- 
toria Cross. The next week the whole division came 
in and covered themselves with glory again in the 
battle of Ginchy. The Irish Division had won the 
admiration of Englishmen and of the Germans. Since 
then their ranks had been depleted, and what was 
true of Connaught was also true of Ulster. There- 
fore, he appealed to them as an Irish soldier to come 
voluntarily and uphold the honor of their Irish regi- 
ments. Proceeding, the speaker referred to American 
opinion on the war, and quoted the remarks of Car- 
dinal Farley, who said: 'We are fighting for a prin- 
ciple. We want justice for all peoples. We are 
fighting that the great wrong may be righted, and the 
world made safe for all nations and for democracy.' 
He assumed there were Sinn Feiners at the meeting. 
They hoped to get justice at the Peace Conference. 
What did justice mean? (A Voice — 'An Irish Re- 
public.') Justice meant getting something they de- 
served. What did the Sinn Feiners deserve? If 
they had fought with the men at Guillemont they could 
go to the Peace Conference with a clear conscience 
and a light heart. But at the Peace Conference they 
will be told, 'You turned your backs on us.' Now, 
who was going to be the greatest power at that Peace 
Conference? (A Voice — 'Germany.') 'Well,' the 
speaker replied, 'you are great students of the news- 



160 THE IRISH TANGLE 

papers down here. Any man who thinks that, let him 
read the papers for the past number of weeks, and 
keep an eye on them for the coming few weeks.' 
(Applause.) Proceeding, the speaker quoted the 
number of American troops on the soil of France and 
the number to be there by next year; that was how 
they knew victory would be on the side of the Allies. 
He knew more about Germany than those present at 
that meeting, and he did not want to see her destroyed, 
but he wanted to see an end of that tyranny. When 
they came to the Peace Conference America would be 
the dominant power, because she had the most men, 
the most ships, and the most money. It was from 
her Ireland would receive the most friendship if they 
fully shared in that great war. Ireland would 
only get from that Peace Conference what she de- 
served and no more. It was a business proposition 
for Ireland to stand by America. They could only 
clear themselves by contributing the men which 
were now asked for. Before conscription came he 
(Captain Gwynn) would be in France. He purposed 
being one of the 50,000 men now asked for, and he 
appealed to every Irishman present who heard from 
Rev. T. C. Johnson what America was doing, and 
from him as an Irish Nationalist and an Irish soldier, 
to volunteer at once and fight for the cause of the 
Allies, which was the cause of humanity, and, above 
all, for the cause of Ireland herself. (Applause.) 



AND A WAY OUT 161 



Ireland's Duty- 
Mr. H. Murphy, Galway, in the course of an ex- 
cellent speech, said he had been on the recruiting 
platform a few years ago when Ireland thought it 
was her duty to answer the call. Why did she do it 
then? The cause was the same today. Their sons 
and brothers in the trenches were calling for them, 
*Come, Sligomen, help us.' As Irishmen they were 
bound to answer the call and fight for Ireland. 
(Applause.) 

Tribute to Sligo by Major Murphy 

Major Murphy here thanked the chairman for 
his kindness in coming to preside at the meeting. He 
appealed to the young men of Ireland, and particu- 
larly Sligo, to justify their position. It was they 
who were responsible for running that voluntary re- 
cruiting campaign, and everything was placed upon 
their shoulders. It was their duty to go to every cor- 
ner of that area and proclaim to the people that they 
wanted the young men of military age to come vol- 
untarily and save the terrible stain of conscription. 
Having discharged their duty to the last degree, the 
blame would not be upon them as organizers. Per- 
haps at the present time the blame rested with them, 
they may not have done their duty properly, but at 
the finish of that campaign it would not be their fault 
if they were not successful. However, he appealed 
to the general public of all creeds and classes to co- 



162 THE IRISH TANGLE 

operate with him to make voluntary recruiting a suc- 
cess in Sligo, Leitrim and Roscommon. Owing to 
the splendid manner in which Sligo men had already 
responded to the call they were only asked to raise 
1,600 men from the three counties. Please God, it 
would grow less every day. If the young men did 
not come to the meetings it was because their con- 
sciences were pricking them. He hated conscription, 
and he had always spoken of Sligo as one of the finest 
recruiting areas in Ireland. He had been there dur- 
ing the past four years, and received nothing but 
kindness from the Sligo people. However, he was 
only doing his duty to Ireland and the best interests 
of the country by appealing to the young men to come 
and fight by the side of the other great countries of 
the world to defeat tyranny. In conclusion, he 
heartily thanked the speakers and the people who had 
given them such a patient hearing. Any young man 
wishing to join voluntarily should present himself at 
the recruiting headquarters, Victoria Hotel, Sligo, 
where he would receive every consideration and 
courtesy. 

Miss Morphy, of Greystones, Dublin, then made 
an impressive appeal to the women present for volun- 
teers for the Queen Mary's Army Auxiliary Corps. 

A hearty vote of thanks was passed to the chair- 
man and speakers on the motion of Captain Perceval, 
seconded by Mr. Dignan. 

The meeting concluded with the playing of the 
National Anthem. 



AND A WAY OUT 163 

Visit to Ballymote Fair. Large Crowd Give 
Sympathetic Hearing. Captain Perceval and 
THE Need of Irish Regiments. Touching Speech 
BY Mr. Dowling. 

On Wednesday the recruiting party visited Bally- 
mote. It was first arranged to hold a meeting at the 
Rosses Point, but it having been fair day in the town 
of Ballymote, it was decided that it would be more 
advantageous to go there. The anticipations were 
fully realized. There was a large fair, and many 
young farmers were present. 

The band and staff left Sligo in a fleet of motor 
cars, and on arrival at Ballymote the band paraded 
the street playing martial airs. Subsequently a meet- 
ing was held opposite the Post Office, and a large 
crowd congregated. The audience were most sym- 
pathetic and listened to the different speakers with 
rapt attention. A feature of the proceedings was the 
selection of Mr. Dowling, Postmaster, as chairman of 
the meeting. No more popular gentleman could have 
been found, and his eloquent impromptu introduc- 
tions and touching appeal were greatly admired. 

After the meeting the members of the staff inter- 
viewed probable recruits for the different branches 
of the service. 

Admirable arrangements were made by the Bally- 
mote police for the reception of the band, and Dis- 
trict Inspector Russell, who is in charge of the Dis- 



164 THE IRISH TANGLE 

trict, was indefatigable in seeing after the welfare 
of the entire party during the visit. 

Mrs. Dowling, the genial wife of the Postmaster, 
and his daughter very kindly extended hospitality to 
Miss Morphy, the only lady of the party, who was 
looking for volunteers for Queen Mary's Army Aux- 
iliary Corps. 

Touching Appeal by Mr. Dowling 

Mr. Dowling, Postmaster, on taking the chair, re- 
ceived a warm reception. In the course of his re- 
marks he said that he was never afraid or ashamed 
to stand up and advocate voluntary enlistment, be- 
cause he believed in his heart and soul that it was the 
only way to prevent the application of conscription 
to Ireland. Neither those present nor himself wanted 
to see conscription enforced, for he believed the Gov- 
ernment didn't want to enforce it until they had given 
the young men of Ireland every opportunity of join- 
ing voluntarily. He did not belong to any political 
organization, but he was a true Irishman. He loved 
his country, and wished to see it prosperous, and 
everybody living in unity with one another. There- 
fore, he believed in the cause of the Allies. He was 
sure no real Irishman wished to have the Hun rule 
over them. God forbid that the Germans should ever 
have the control of Ireland. The only way to prevent 
them from desecrating their altars and ravishing their 
womanhood and murdering their innocent children 



AND A WAY OUT 165 

was by going and fighting. He had two sons fighting 
with the colors, and Major Murphy could tell them 
that he himself had also offered his services, but un- 
fortunately the gray hairs were too numerous, and 
they wouldn't accept him. (Laughter and applause.) 
If the Lord called upon his two sons to make the su- 
preme sacrifice, their mother and he would be con- 
soled by the fact that they fought and died on behalf 
of a righteous and just cause. 

'Whether on scaffolds high, 
Or in the battle's van, 
The noblest place for man to die 
Is where he dies for man.' 

(Loud applause.) 

Mr. Murphy, who was the first speaker intro- 
duced, made an eloquent appeal for men, and his 
remarks were well received. 

The Test of America s Friendship 

Rev. T. C. Johnson, who was receieved with ap- 
plause, created a great impression by the forceful 
manner in which he told of the great part America 
was taking in the war, mentioning the fact that an 
officer possessing the same name as the chairman was 
the first to cross the Ourcq River after the Germans 
with the 69th Fighting Irish Regiment of America. 
The speaker read a portion of an eloquent letter from 
ex-President Roosevelt, whose final words were — 
*The test of our friendship for any nation should he 
that nation's attitude in the war.' If the Irish people 
11 



166 THE IRISH TANGLE 

now responded they would wipe out the disgrace 
which was pending upon the page of Irish history. 
(Applause.) 

The chairman here mentioned that he had a son 
in the 69th American Regiment referred to by 
Rev. T. C. Johnson, and he hoped he wasn't far away 
from the officer named Dowling who was the first to 
cross the Ourcq River. (Hear, hear.) 

Captain Perceval, Hazelwood, who had a hearty 
reception, spoke of the need of men to fill the de- 
pleted Irish regiments, and made a strong appeal to 
the men of Ballymote to do their duty, and save the 
good name of Ireland. 

Branches of the Service Explained 

Major Newton, of the local recruiting staff, gave a 
clear explanation of the different branches of the 
service, and pointed out the many advantages and 
attractions they held out to the young manhood of 
Ireland. 

Miss Morphy appealed for volunteers for Queen 
Mary's Women's Auxiliary Corps, which was formed 
for the purpose of releasing the men. The forma- 
tion of the Women's Corps was a tremendous experi- 
ment — almost a revolution — because the Army was 
the most traditional of all other callings. However, 
the experiment had been fully justified, and it was a 
great privilege for women to help the men who had 



AND A WAY OUT 167 

done so much for them. Women were useful as 
clerks, and for general domestic work. Their life was 
made as happy as possible, and the pay was good. 
Any girl wishing to join in Ballymote could apply to 
Mrs. Perceval, Templehouse, who had kindly offered 
her assistance, or at the recruiting headquarters in 
Sligo. 

At the conclusion of the meeting Major Murphy 
returned thanks to Mr. Dowling for presiding." 

The effort of the Council as far as securing the 
50,000 volunteers between June and October was not 
quite successful, as only about 11,000 men had re- 
sponded to that call to duty at the expiration of the 
time stipulated; but, in another sense, it was success- 
ful, inasmuch as it brought together in a common 
cause, and on the same platform frequently, those of 
different political affiliations who placed their coun- 
try's welfare above party loyalty. If the movement 
had received the support of the different leaders who 
preferred to stand aloof, it might have gone a long 
way toward solving the question that nothing else had 
been able to solve heretofore. 

The movement failed because the Nationalist Mem- 
bers of Parliament and other leaders, generally, re- 
fused to have anything to do with it — they were luke- 
warm — and neither helped nor hindered. If these 
gentlemen had thrown their influence that way, and 
had personally appealed to their constituents, the re- 
sponse undoubtedly would have been very great, and 



168 THE IRISH TANGLE 

the general approval would have given many who 
really wanted to serve their country in the war — but 
were afraid to come out boldly lest they should incur 
the displeasure of their representatives and of their 
neighbors — an opportunity to act in accordance with 
their desires. Such aid would have been far-reach- 
ing in its effects at home and abroad, and might have 
been a great influence in deciding the contests in the 
last General Election and a telling factor in favor of 
those Nationalists who then were displaced in Parlia- 
ment. It was another golden opportunity that the 
country and the political leaders refused to accept; 
and an opportunity which, if accepted, would have re- 
sulted in changing the attitude of the people toward 
one another, and the opinion of the world toward the 
people of Ireland generally. 

Another influence that helped to defeat the end the 
Irish Recruiting Council had in view was the attitude 
of the Roman Catholic Clergy and the Sinn Fein. 

The anti-conscription pledge already mentioned 
kept a great number of young men from joining the 
fighting force at this time, as they believed that the 
pledge they had taken required abstention from mili- 
tary service under any circumstance. If the Roman 
Catholic Clergy and the Sinn Fein had given a little 
encouragement to those men, and had explained to 
them the diff'erence between their pledge and the 
appeal made to them by Irishmen, they no doubt 
would have joined the colors in large numbers. As it 
was they remained apparently indiff"erent to the out- 



AND A WAY OUT 169 

come of the war, and to the calls of their relatives 
and friends who had gone out to the front from coun- 
tries where conscription was regarded as the only fair 
way of achieving victory in the shortest time. 

Again, another force that militated against the work 
of the Recruiting Council was the opinion that several 
people held and expounded regarding the conscrip- 
tion order. A large number of people scoffed at the 
idea that the Government would surely enforce the 
Military Service Bill in Ireland, if the required num- 
ber had not been enrolled by the date stated, and so 
decided to wait and see. Why this idea had become 
so strongly rooted in their minds is a problem, in view 
of Lord French's promise that the order would cer- 
tainly be put into operation if the condition agreed to 
between the Irish Recruiting Council and himself 
failed of fulfilment; but, fortunately, owing to Ger- 
many's reverse about this time, which quickly termi- 
nated in utter defeat, the reason for calling up Ire- 
land's men ceased to exist, and Ireland was saved the 
humiliation of enforced service. With the passing of 
conscription there also passed Ireland's greatest 
opportunity to do honor to herself, in serving volun- 
tarily with the Allied armies and winning with them 
the most important victory of all time. 

The disappointment felt by many in Ireland at the 
failure of the country to do its best in the war was 
solemnly voiced by the Right Reverend Charles B. 
Dowse, D.D., Lord Bishop of Cork, Cloyne and Ross, 
in his address to the Synod at their annual meeting 



170 THE IRISH TANGLE 

held on October 23, 1918, in Cork. After men- 
tioning the valuable service that the clergy of his 
diocese had given to the country during the war, he 
said, "We are thankful for the timely and whole- 
hearted entrance of America into the war, and for the 
success that has attended the united efforts of the 
Allies during these past few weeks, giving assurance 
of complete victory if only we endure to the end. Our 
hearts are thrilled as we think of Palestine delivered 
from the desolating oppression of the Turks, and the 
restoration of freedom to the Holy Land. For these 
things we may, indeed, be thankful, and offer sin- 
cerest praise to Almighty God for the great things He 
has done by means of our heroic sailors and soldiers. 
And yet for us Irishmen there is one dark blot on 
the brightness around us. We, as a country, are 
largely standing aloof. The very greatness of the 
sacrifices endured by the Allies serve to intensify our 
shame. No doubt, there are many noble exceptions, 
and Irish sailors and soldiers have played a part 
second to none in heroism and devoted service on be- 
half of freedom and righteousness. But the fact 
that Ireland generally has refused to take her proper 
and full share of the burden must ever remain the 
measure of her degradation and disgrace. What an 
opportunity was given to the Nationalists of Ireland. 
Had they heartily and loyally espoused the cause of 
the Allies and sent the young men of this country to 
bear a glorious part in the fighting line in the defeat 
of oppression and tyranny, and the establishment of 



AND A WAY OUT 171 

truth and right, what demand could England have re- 
fused had they taken such a course as this? The re- 
alization of all their desires was at hand. As it is, it 
is hard to see how England can give fulfilment to the 
desires of a people who refuse her help, and by doing 
so aid and encourage her enemies. But, however Ire- 
land may stand in lonely selfishness, thinking only of 
herself and her own petty grievances, in the midst of 
world-wide happenings and events that are calling for 
the co-operation of all the people of the earth, victory, 
sure, complete and far-reaching, is coming to the 
Allies." 



172 THE IRISH TANGLE 



CHAPTER IX 
A Solution 

Present state: Prosperous, but unsettled — Exports and Im- 
ports. — Bank deposits. — Fishing returns. — Changing condi- 
tions. — Sergeant Sullivan, K. C, on lawlessness, and his 
appeal against crime. — Settlement desirable. — Unionists and 
Partition. — The Centre Party. — Irish Reconstruction Associa- 
tion. — Summary'. — Proposed solution: Improvement of 
national education.^ — No religious education during school 
hours. — Unity, the most desirable asset. — Railway improve- 
ment. — Government co-operation to be given generously. — 
A Port in the West. — A Federal Parliament, for England, 
Scotland, Wales and Ireland, with suitable safeguards for 
the Irish Provinces, the best plan today. — General Gough on 
conciliation. — The New Bill. 

T the present time Ireland is one of the 
most prosperous lands under the sun: and 
her prosperity, which has grown steadily 
for the last hundred years, has been 
greatly accelerated by tlie past four years of world 
war. It does not fall within the province of this work 
to enter exhaustively into the various departments of 
economic and industrial development in order to show 
what advance has been made in each. Information 
of this kind is accessible to any who desire to study 
it in the various reports of the Government, and of 
the Societies whose home is at Merion Square under 
the guidance of Sir Horace Plunkett, although a few 
pointers may properly be noted here. 




AND A WAY OUT 173 

It has been stated already that, the population of 
Ireland in 1800, the time of the Union, amounted to 
about 5,000,000, and that forty-five years later the 
population had increased to 8,295,000. The pres- 
ent population is less than 5,000,000. 

The total tonnage entering Irish ports before the 
Union — taking the three years before — amounted to 
112,333, whereas in 1845 — taking the three-year 
period — it had grown to 631,981. In the year 1910 
the tonnage entering Dublin and Belfast, omitting the 
records of all other ports, amounted to 893,047. The 
value of Exports and Imports for the three years end- 
ing 1790 amounted to £7,660,971: in 1826, taking 
the three-year basis, this item had increased to 
£15,946,808; in 1836, on the same basis, the result 
was £32,731,910; and in 1910, one year only, the 
Exports and Imports amounted to £130,888,732. In 
1913, the Exports amounted to £73,877,389, and the 
Imports amounted to £74,467,283, a total of 
£148,344,672. In 1916 the Exports amounted to 
£107,171,017, and the Imports amounted to 
£105,205,416, making a total of £212,376,433. 

The deposits in the Joint Stock Banks in 1851 
amounted to £8,263,000: in 1890 the amount was 
£33,061,000, and in 1910 £52,505,000. The 
amount in Post Office Savings Banks in 1870 was 
£583,165: in 1888, £3,128,000 and in 1909, 
£11,187,000. At the present time the amount of 
money deposited in Banks and Post Offices in Ireland 
amounts to about £125,000,000. Here it is worthy of 



174 THE IRISH TANGLE 

note that, from 1845 to 1912 the population had de- 
creased 3,500,000, and that the land under cultiva- 
tion had decreased by 1,500,000 acres. 

The Railways of Ireland are another indicator of 
the progress of the country. In 1842 the receipts 
from the fourteen miles then in operation amounted 
to £57,000: in 1890 the receipts from 2,643 miles 
amounted to £3,042,000: in 1909 the receipts from 
3,391 miles, amounted to £4,335,368: and in 1913 
the receipts from 3,410 miles amounted to £4,659,- 
283. Reports of the war period are not accessible. 

The fishermen of Ireland during the year 1918 
realized on their sales of fish about £1,000,000. In 
Baltimore it was not unusual for the local bankers to 
distribute from £4,500 to £6,000 per week to the 
fishermen who made that port their chief market 
during the summer. Much of this money, however, 
did not find its way to the banks or general circulation, 
but was hoarded up and even buried for safe keeping. 
A number of policemen when searching Cape Clear — 
where many fishermen live — and digging up freshly 
disturbed earth in hope of finding concealed and 
forbidden firearms, discovered hundreds of pounds 
in gold and other currency. In one instance, £600 in 
gold were brought to the bank, as a result of the dili- 
gence of the police in digging near a residence. No 
wonder that Cape Clear is now known as "Treasure 
Island." 

As the prosperity of Ireland commands the atten- 
tion of all interested in the Irish situation, so must 



AND A WAY OUT 175 

the present state of the country. In no period, per- 
haps, of Ireland's life has the general disaffection of 
the people attained such proportions. History is 
quickly made sometimes; but hardly ever has there 
been so much pressed into so short a time as in the 
case of Ireland during the first eight or ten weeks of 
1919. A Sinn Fein Republic has introduced itself 
to the world; some of the leaders of the "German 
plot" have been released from gaol; efforts to get 
Ireland before the Peace Conference have been many, 
far off and near; two new political parties have come 
into existence: and a society for looking after Ire- 
land's welfare everywhere, including Westminster, 
has been formed. No one pretends to know what will 
happen as a result of all this. 

The present frame of mind of most of the country 
and the recent lawlessness, and murders in Tipperary, 
have caused one of the most respected leaders of the 
Nationalist Party — who, by the way, as legal adviser, 
defended the late Sir Robert Casement, and also 
signed the anti-conscription pledge — Sergeant A. M. 
Sullivan, K. C, to send a letter to the Press from 
which the following extracts are taken: 

"The condition of affairs revealed by the circum- 
stances connected with the Tipperary murders shows 
that the advocates of Christianity in Ireland have very 
little time left to organize for their own preservation. 
The episode itself was the natural development of the 
brutalizing and pagan creed that, for the past three 
years, has been proclaimed as 'patriotism' in Ireland, 



176 THE IRISH TANGLE 

while those who should have refuted it have sat in cow- 
ardly silence. Base and degrading as this crime is, it 
is but one symptom of the moral disintegration of our 
nation. The orators who last Sunday praised or 
'justified' assassination were doing no more perma- 
nent harm to our country than the preachers of the 
new doctrines of politics and economics, who defy all 
authority, moral or legal, and teach that, the triumph 
of violence is liberty and that anarchy and idleness 
are the guardians of prosperity. 

Ireland is in the grip of a criminal confederacy of 
secret societies. Our youth are being taught that 
every breach of the law is a service to Ireland. Acts 
that are condemned by every Christian Church as 
murder or as suicide are openly glorified and held 
up for the imitation of our countrymen. Men are 
assured that by the destruction of employers and by 
the confiscation of property prosperity will be secured 
for a republic of 'workers' who need not work. This 
propaganda is in the ears and before the eyes of our 
people every day. What attempt is made to answer 
it? 

The ignorant politicians are willing to profess a 
belief in anything that will make them 'popular.' 
The crying need of the hour is to rescue our youth 
from the criminal societies by organizing the Irish 
people in the suppression of crime. Every moral pre- 
ceptor should summon up his courage to instruct his 
flock in their duty to help the Administration to bring 
criminals to justice. Those who have witnessed 



AND A WAY OUT 177 

should come forward and give evidence in truth and 
honesty. Magistrates and jurors should be taught to 
respect the obligations of their oaths. It is the cow- 
ardice of our people with regard to these matters that 
has enabled the secret societies to enslave them. Un- 
til the community has the courage to punish crime 
it must remain a community of slaves. 

The matter cannot end there. Every educated 
man knows that the liberty and prosperity of the 
humble people depend on the practical application 
of the principles of Christianity to public affairs. It 
is as easy to teach this truth to our countrymen as it 
is for foreigners and half-breeds to teach them pagan 
lies. The man who cannot demonstrate that the bur- 
dens of crime and violence ultimately fall upon the 
shoulders of the poor is not fit to address any flock. 
The man who does not himself believe in the Gospel as 
the charter of true liberty of nations as of men is not 
fit to be a clergyman. There is no time to be lost. 
The danger must be met and faced at once. Immu- 
nity from spoliation and banishment can be purchased 
by silence very little longer. There is no institution 
that renders more valuable political service in the 
preservation of peace and order, and in securing the 
happiness and prosperity of the State, than the Church 
in which the poor have the Gospel preached to them. 
The silent pulpit has no defense against the pagan 
economist. 

I do not seek to minimize the dangers of the course 
I advocate. Secret tyranny has been permitted to be- 



178 THE IRISH TANGLE 

come so strong that it can close churches and starve 
priests. It can murder with impunity in open day- 
light, in the presence of witnesses. This thing must 
be ended. 'Better we all were in our graves than 
live in slavery to slaves.' " 

A settlement of the whole Irish question was never 
more desirable, from every point of view, and never 
have the Government been more anxious to do their 
part toward that end than now. What the Govern- 
ment did in 1914, in placing Home Rule in the 
Statute Book has never been undone, and the enforce- 
ment of this Law needs only another Law dealing with 
Ulster's future. This enforcement Law is not 
within sight, in fact the Prime Minister promised the 
voters of Great Britain and Ireland, before the last 
General Election, that Ulster should not be coerced if 
they returned him to power, and many believe that the 
large majority he and his people received in Great 
Britain was due in no small measure to that pledge. 
Ulster, on the other hand, is quite willing to allow 
the rest of Ireland to go its own way, so long as Ulster 
is allowed to remain a part of the British Empire; but 
the rest of Ireland is not agreeable to this plan. One 
of the new organizations recently called into existence 
by Lord Midleton is opposed to this platform of 
Ulster; and, consequently, there are now two Unionist 
Societies in Ireland — the Irish Unionist Alliance, 
heretofore the united Unionist forces, and the Unionist 
Anti-partition League, the new body. This Southern 
Unionist Body is in favor of the Unionist policy gen- 



AND A WAY OUT 179 

erally; but it is opposed to that part which, the Ulster 
Unionists have declared as agreeable to themselves, 
the partition of Ireland. It cannot be seen, however, 
that any way has been made toward uniting the 
opinion of Ireland by this society within a society. 

The platform of these Unionists, from the South 
chiefly, is nothing more than the platform they held 
during the sessions of the Irish Convention, although 
it places on record, through outward organization, its 
dissent from the Ulster Unionists' willingness to 
separate from the rest of the Unionists of Ireland. 

The other Party recently organized under the 
leadership of Captain Stephen Gwynn brings forward 
a proposal which was made in the Irish Convention 
by the Primate and the Provost of Trinity College, 
although at that time the plan received little encour- 
agement. In another Chapter (VII) the document 
stating the general outline of this plan, which em- 
braced a General Parliament for home affairs, and a 
Parliament for each of the four Provinces for man- 
agement of its own affairs, may be found. How far 
this Irish Center Party will succeed is problematical, 
owing to the great importance of the Sinn Fein and 
their leaders, the divided Unionists, the aloofness of 
Ulster, and the unsympathetic Nationalists and their 
leaders. If the plan should not receive support, it at 
least will have the honor of pointing the way to an- 
other and larger Federalization noted hereafter. 

The other society recently created. The Irish Re- 
construction Association, has for its objects, "to safe- 



180 THE IRISH TANGLE 

guard the interests, economic and social, of the whole 
of Ireland during the period of Reconstruction, and, 
incidentally, to oppose partition, on the ground that it 
will be found to be quite incompatible with any sound 
scheme of Reconstruction." This society will ex- 
amine the value of Governmental proposals for Ire- 
land in the period of reconstruction: suggest to the 
Government methods of meeting the situation as de- 
veloped from time to time, and advise the farmers 
and others regarding the industries tliat might be de- 
veloped here and there. On the whole, the plan seems 
quite in keeping with other movements now well estab- 
lished in Ireland, some of which have been referred 
to already, except that it takes into its scope a politi- 
cal feature, the anti-partition matter. If it could have 
avoided this feature, it certainly would have received 
a large and generous support, as there existed a need 
for a society capable of doing the work that this one 
has planned. 

These recent developments have not changed the 
writer's opinion as to the best way of solving the dif- 
ficulties presented in the Irish situation, and he now 
offers it for what it is worth. In the previous pages 
he has tried to give an account of Ireland as history 
has been written, and from information gathered from 
Irishmen of all walks of life, in order that the reader 
may form his own conclusions. In what follows the 
writer gives the methods that he believes would bring 
the best results in Ireland in the shortest time. 

It has been shown that it would hardly be com- 



AND A WAY OUT 181 

patible with the interests of the Empire to consent to 
the Sinn Fein program for a complete separation 
of Ireland from the rest of it; the chief objections be- 
ing. National Safety, Commercial Relationship, and 
Ulster Opposition. The Partition Plan has also 
proved unworkable; as the Nationalists and others 
have declined to have Ireland separated, nationally. 
Other plans for solving the difficulty and bringing the 
people together as a nation have failed for one reason 
or another, and need not be recorded here. 

The educational system of Ireland everyone allows 
is in need of vast improvement. At present, while it 
is the best so far, it suits no one, and does not make 
for a united and patriotic people. To begin with, the 
National Schools, or Public Schools, are too often old 
buildings insufficiently heated in winter, with uncom- 
fortable furniture and unsanitary surroundings. The 
text-books are not the very best to be had, and while 
the teachers are generally well-equipped for their 
work, they are usually underpaid. These matters 
should be attended to without delay. Irish should be 
taught in the schools; and Irish History, Poetry and 
Song should be made an important part of the curricu- 
lum of every grade. As already stated, Irish is taught 
in many schools, under special conditions: but it 
should be made a required subject in all National 
Schools at least. 

The next improvement that should be made in the 
National Schools, is to make them thoroughly 
National in every sense. The object of National 

12 



182 THE IRISH TANGLE 

Schools should be to educate the children in secondary 
education and to foster loyalty to the Government 
under which they live. Patriotism is not generally 
taught in the National Schools in Ireland, with a 
result that the children grow up without that love of 
country which the children of other nations have in- 
stilled into them in the Public Schools. Let patriotism 
be taught, with due reference to the best in the coun- 
try's achievements at all times. And, in order to 
guarantee unity among the children of to-day — the 
men and women of to-morrow — let sectarianism be 
abolished in the National Schools. Sectarianism 
militates against unity and nationalism, and, in no 
country under heaven does it operate more fully 
to this end than in Ireland. National Schools 
should not be centers where separation is propagated 
in the plastic days of child-life. Denominationalism 
should be cast out of the National Schools in Ireland; 
and cast out so that it may not return easily. This 
does not mean that Ireland has an over-abundance of 
religion, far from it, or that the children should be 
allowed to grow without careful and sound religious 
training. It means that the National Schools in Ire- 
land, whatever Public Schools elsewhere may be 
allowed to teach, should not be allowed to teach any 
particular kind of religion during school hours, and 
that there no clergyman should instruct any of the 
children in religious matters during regular school 
hours. Let the churches and the homes be the places 
where religious instruction shall be had, and care 



AND A WAY OUT 183 

should be taken to provide a great deal of such in- 
struction for the children; but let the National Schools 
be centers of nationality at all times. Children 
would then grow up, as they do elsewhere, to love 
their country, and to think of one another as brothers 
and sisters in that great family — the Nation. The 
writer is aware of the recent efforts in Ireland to re- 
form primary education; and that there remains great 
scope for progress in advanced and technical educa- 
tion also. Everyone in Ireland in public life to-day 
states most emphatically, that the most insurmount- 
able barrier to unity is sectarian bigotry. This ap- 
plies to all the religious bodies in Ireland, and, as the 
greatest impediment in the way of unity, the diffi- 
culty should be overcome as soon as possible by all 
means. 

Another way toward the solution of the Irish Prob- 
lem, that should be put into operation speedily, is the 
development of the resources of Ireland. To this 
end railway facilities should be placed within the 
reach of the producer, by the extending of present 
systems, or the building of new ones, and the reducing 
of passenger and freight rates. If the railways, 
twenty-eight of them, cannot, from a financial stand- 
point, undertake this step, then let the Government 
come to their aid, but let the roads be built quickly 
and made accessible to the average man. The writer 
is not competent to advise Government ownership of 
public utilities, nor will his observation and knowl- 
edge warrant his doing so. The Irish railway situa- 



184 THE IRISH TANGLE 

tion has received a great deal of time and thought 
from Mr. William Field, M.P., whose writings on 
the matter are most interesting; and also by "Vmd," 
the author of "The Road to Irish Prosperity." Any- 
one who wishes general information regarding the 
Railways in Ireland, will be repaid by studying the 
writings of these gentlemen. Let the program of de- 
velopment mentioned by Lord French, when he visited 
Belfast last summer (1918) be carried out forthwith. 
The following extract from one of his speeches is 
most encouraging: "Rural Ireland has begun to 
share in this wonderful prosperity. She has supplied 
Great Britain during the last year with nearly one 
million head of cattle. The value of food and drink 
stuffs exported from Ireland to Great Britain has in- 
creased in the last four years from thirty millions to 
fifty-nine millions. The Government of Ireland are 
doing their utmost to maintain and continue this pros- 
perous state of affairs. They hope by judicious policy 
to assist further in the development of agricultural 
production and the industries arising therefrom. 
Your great shipbuilding industries turn out ships for 
the transport of the produce of the country, and it 
seems to us that in this respect the West coast of Ire- 
land can be turned to tremendous account. Natural 
facilities for the construction and improvement of 
harbors and the establishment of docks exist in 
abundance. I much wish the Chief Secretary for 
Ireland could have been with us today that he might 
have told you something of the great ideas he is con- 



AND A WAY OUT 185 



ceiving as to the possibilities of developing the min- 
eral wealth of Ireland. He has already personally 
visited many places with this object in view, and 1 
know it is his intention to devote a considerable time 
this autumn to the same great object. Here is peace, 
prosperity, and plenty for all within our grasp if we 
will only cease to follow will o' the wisps and settle 
down to hard and earnest endeavor. (Applause.) 
Industrial effort and agricultural effort, the great co- 
partners of success in any country, will then grad- 
ually transform this country into the Denmark of 
the United Kingdom." 

Let the Government proceed further and put the 
recommendations made by the Sub-Committee of the 
Transport Committee, advising the development of 
inland transport by canals, the development of har- 
bors, and the creating of a port for accelerating trans- 
port between Europe and America, into operation. 
Let the "self-help" movement in Ireland continue, 
no matter imder what name it shall operate; and let 
Irishmen take some of the £125,000,000 now in 
banks and invest it in home industries, development 
of the land, mines, harbors and roads. No matter if 
some feel, regarding home effort and home invest- 
ment, as those who indulged in the following: "Sure," 
said one, "we will be ruined entirely, if we have to 
pay for things ourselves without English help." To 
which the other replied, "Yes, we may be bankrupt, 
but we'U be bankrupt with our own money, don't you 
see." These aids are important, and since 1832 at 



186 THE IRISH TANGLE 

least they have been suggested as factors that would 
go a long way toward solving the Irish difficulty. 

To meet the present state there remains only one 
solution, and that is a Federal Government for the 
British at home, which would be a great relief to the 
Westminster Parliament, and a decided gain to the 
Empire as a whole. This would require a Parlia- 
ment for Ireland, a Parliament for England, a Parlia- 
ment for Scotland and a Parliament for Wales, to 
look after domestic affairs; and a Parliament at West- 
minster of representatives from each of the above 
Parliaments, in proportion to the people represented. 
This is practically the system of Government in 
America, where all are satisfied with it. The differ- 
ent States have independent Governments for local 
affairs, and the Congress directs the affairs of the 
Nation collectively. Provision should be made, of 
course, for guaranteeing the religious freedom and 
political existence of men of all parties under this 
plan, which should be fair to all parties and Prov- 
inces of the country. What Ireland needs, first, 
last and all the time, is Unity among the Irish them- 
selves; and in no better or quicker way can it be ob- 
tained than by the adoption of this proposed solution. 

The words of General Sir Hubert P. Gough, in 
joining the Irish Centre Party, are of great value, and 
may well be applied to the plan just outlined: "The 
main object," he said, "that we require to arrive at 
among Irishmen and in Ireland is the feeling of 
brotherhood, comradeship, and respect for one an- 



AND A WAY OUT 187 

other, as from this springs self-respect of all indi- 
viduals and a proper and legitimate national pride. 
From these spring again, love of truth, of justice, and 
of liberty. Many of us Irishmen have learnt what 
comradeship can exist and what real brotherhood 
means in this war, in common with others of the 
British race from all over the world. It is so precious 
an asset that it is unnecessary to enlarge upon it." 
And again, "there is every possibility that Irishmen 
can agree if the question is approached in the spirit 
that befits a great people — in a serious and temperate 
manner, and with a foundation of brotherhood and 
conciliation in their hearts." 



During the progress of this work through the printers' 
hands a new scheme for the government of Ireland has 
been proposed in the British Parliament. 

The plan, as so far outlined, is to establish in Ireland 
two Legislatures (retaining representation at Westminster) 
with a third body, to be known as the Council of Ireland, 
elected by the other two, for the purpose of legislating on 
matters common to both of them, and further designed, 
possibly, to fulfil the promoters' hopes of an ultimate union 
of the two Legislatures. 

This is a well meant attempt to satisfy Irish aspirations 
and promote a feeling of goodwill in Ireland towards the 
sister Kingdom; but its success can only, at present, be 
conjectured. Unfortunately, the most likely conjecture is 
that the scheme will not be accepted cheerfully by both 
sections of the country, if by either, and, however bene- 
ficial it may honestly be in intent, it may yet fail of its 
purpose if forced unwillingly upon the country. 



188 THE IRISH TANGLE 




APPENDIX 

War Time Addresses 

Addresses by the author and distinguished Irishmen, on 
the War and Ireland's duty, at Schull. — The Palace Theatre, 
Cork. — Mallow. — Tullamore. — The Mansion House, Dublin. 
— Ballymena. — Rathfriland. — Sligo and Ballymote. — The 
Recruiting Council's acknowledgment. 

URING the writer's stay in Ireland he had 
the privilege of addressing many gather- 
ings of people in various parts of the 
country on the war; and he received on all 
occasions the sympathy and approval of his auditors. 
Many citizens helped in organizing meetings, giving 
their patronage, and contributing vocal and instru- 
mental items to the programs. Extracts from the 
newspapers regarding some of these meetings are 
given hereafter; and if the extract of the report of 
any meeting seems meagre here it is owing to a de- 
sire to avoid tautology, as the subject was the same 
everywhere. The few places and addresses to which 
reference is now made are among the most important 
visited, although the interest evinced in all the meet- 
ings held was of the highest order. The newspapers 
were very generous in reporting the various addresses, 
and in almost all cases gave a correct account of the 
proceedings. 



AND A WAY OUT 189 

In Schull, County Cork, where the first lecture was 
delivered, the reasons why America had not entered 
the war in the beginning, and the reasons why she 
eventually had entered, were stated, as well as the 
gigantic efforts that were then being put forward by 
the whole American people to insure victory. Here, 
as in other places, a collection was taken for Red 
Cross work or some object connected with the war. 
The Skibbereen Eagle, among other things, reported 
as follows: 

" America s Part in the War 

The Rev. Thos. C. Johnson, of Brooklyn, New 
York, who has just arrived in Ireland, delivered a 
most interesting lecture at Schull, on Monday night, 
on the part which the United States of America have 
taken, are taking, and are going to take in the war. 
The lecture was profusely illustrated by magnificent 
lantern slides, and the Schoolroom (No. 3) in which 
it was delivered, was thronged by a fashionable and 
most appreciative audience. 

The Rev. G. B. Fairbrother, M.A., Rector, pre- 
sided, and in introducing the lecturer, said he wel- 
comed him as a Corkman, and also as a citizen of 
their great Ally, the United States (applause). He 
looked forward with great interest to what he would 
say to them that night. For three years, before 
America entered the war, their Allies on the Western 
front withstood all the shock of the tremendous fight. 



190 THE IRISH TANGLE 

The United States for that period did not see fit to 
enter into the war, for reasons good to themselves. 
They had now, however, come in and come in en- 
thusiastically — with all their ardor and all their 
strength and all their hope and courage — and they 
were doing a great deal, and their troops were pour- 
ing by hundreds of thousands to the Western front; 
and with the aid of the great Republic of the West, 
victory would be achieved. (Loud applause.) On 
the part of the audience he welcomed Rev. T. C. John- 
son that night, and he was sure they would all go away 
instructed and pleased and thankful. (Renewed ap- 
plause.) 

The Lecture 

The Rev. T. C. Johnson, who was enthusiastically 
received, thanked the audience for their cordial re- 
ception, and said he was greatly touched by it, and 
felt more and more at home, as he was breathing his 
native air. The question of the war was an impor- 
tant one of course. As soon as America entered the 
war conscription was ordered, and billions of dollars 
were voted for war purposes in America and in the 
Allied countries. Not one man dare, in the streets of 
New York today, stand up and say that America had 
not done the right thing in entering the war. It was a 
tremendous thing for one hundred and twenty mil- 
lion people to be heart and soul for justice, and that 
was what all America was for (applause). The 
States were giving men and money to help the Allies 



AND A WAY OUT 191 

and had now nearly a million men in France and Eng- 
land (applause), and every month one-third of a mil- 
lion recruits were being called up for training. He 
himself had three nephews and a brother serving in 
the British Navy and Army. They could never after 
this war separate the French, English, and American 
nations (applause). The States had been sending men 
across the Atlantic for months and months past, and 
they all awaited the issue, confident that it would 
bring victory to the Allies, smash the German mili- 
tary machine, and secure the future peace of the 
world. (Loud applause.) 

On the motion of the Rev. J. Boardman, M.A., 
seconded by Mr. R. Wolfe (Provincial Bank), a cor- 
dial vote of thanks was passed to the Rev. Lecturer, 
who suitably replied, and said he should be happy 
to show the slides anywhere there was a demand for 
them. (Applause.)" 

In Cork a lecture was given in the Palace Theatre, 
which had been kindly given for the purpose by Sir 
Alfred Dobbin, under the patronage of the Lord 
Mayor and Lady Mayoress, General and Mrs. Doran 
and others, in aid of the widows and orphans of the 
Cork sailors who had lost their lives through the sink- 
ing of their ships by German submarines. The lec- 
ture was well attended; and the Band of the 3d Lin- 
colnshire Regiment contributed several items during 
intervals. The following account appeared in the 
Cork Constitution, July 22d: 



192 THE IRISH TANGLE 

"What America Is Doing in the War 
Lecture at the Palace Theatre 

At the Palace Theatre on Saturday afternoon an 
interesting lecture, entitled *What America Is Doing 
in the Great War,' was delivered by Rev. T. C. John- 
son, Brooklyn, New York. The lecture was in aid of 
the Cork Sailors' Widows and Orphans Fund, and 
the house was fairly well filled. The lecture was 
illustrated by films and slides, and the band of the 
3d Lincolnshire Regiment was present and rendered 
some very pleasing American and other airs. The 
Lord Mayor was to have presided, but owing to an 
unavoidable engagement was unable to attend. 

The lecturer said he was very happy to be able to 
assist the fund got up for the widows and orphans of 
the Cork sailors, who had sacrificed their lives in 
order to go on with their duty and their work, and had 
risked the dangers of the deep, so terrible at the pres- 
ent day, for the good of others. He had, he said, 
been asked many times during the past few weeks 
why America did not come into the war long ago, and 
he wished to refer to that point. He had had the op- 
portunity of talking with many prominent statesmen 
in America, and had gleaned from them the chief 
reasons why she decided to stand by so long. First, 
she wished to act in accordance with her old policy 
as laid down by the Monroe Doctrine — to remain 
herself free, and not interfere in European politics. 
Secondly, America did not come in quickly because 



AND A WAY OUT 193 

she had a great foreign population, and had at least 
half a million German voters. Thirdly, America was 
doing a great deal of good for the Allies in the way 
of sending food and so on. Fourthly, America was 
not ready — she had few soldiers, little munitions, and 
a small Navy. Eventually, America had to come 
into the war. They had read with horror in Amer- 
ica of what the Germans had done in France and 
Belgium and in the air raids on England; but when 
these things were brought to America's door the 
whole of the States rose to prosecute that righteous 
war. Once started, America made mighty strides in 
placing herself on a war footing. The lecturer then 
went on to describe the enthusiastic war scenes in the 
States he had witnessed. He saw the first recruits 
passing through New York, and they were an inspir- 
ing sight, including as they did people of all nations, 
even Africans, Chinese and Japanese; and since that 
time America had sent over about 1,300,000 men — 
(applause) — and they were simply an earnest of 
what America was going to do. The places of these 
men when they moved out of camp were taken by 
others, and by the end of this month they would have 
in Europe close on two million men. (Applause.) 
America had undertaken the task of building ships 
as well as furnishing men and money. During the 
last six months . . . ships were built in 
America, and that was the beginning of things. They 
would build a bridge of ships between Europe and 
America, so that by placing them end to end they 



194 THE IRISH TANGLE 

could almost walk from New York to Cork — (ap- 
plause) — and they had, he added, . . ». 
ships at the present time in these waters. In the town 
in which he lived, there was a regiment called the 
*Irish Sixty-ninth,' a regiment which had won fame 
in the American Civil War, and that fine fighting 
Irish regiment was one of the first to be sent over; it 
had been decimated, the men paying the price with 
their lives. He hoped that such Irishmen would still 
be found to render good service to their country. 
Concluding, he encouraged all to persevere in their 
work until victory was achieved. (Applause.) 

A number of films and slides were then shown 
depicting war scenes in America, the Americans in 
France, and the work of the American Navy, which 
the audience followed with interest, and applause 
greeted the reading of an inspiring letter written by 
ex-President Roosevelt to the lecturer. At the con- 
clusion the band played the National Anthems of the 
various Allies." 

Two lectures were given in Mallow before gather- 
ings that taxed the capacity of the hall; and a goodly 
amount was realized toward aiding the Fund for the 
Relief of the Cork Widows and Orphans and also the 
Red Cross work. 

The success of these meetings was chiefly due to 
the labors of Mrs. Richard E. Longfield, who had 
made all the arrangements, including the designing 
and putting out of very attractive advertising posters. 
Mr. Richard E, Longfield, as Chairman, in introduc- 



AND A WAY OUT 195 

ing the speaker made an eloquent and persuasive 
plea to the young men of his town to avail themselves 
of the present opportunity to help their country by 
joining voluntarily in the great effort to secure the 
peace of the world; and he spoke in flattering terms 
of the part America was taking in the war. Major 
Lewis Longfield, son of Mr. and Mrs. Longfield above 
mentioned, and author of "The Sacrament," who was 
home on a few days' leave from France, sang the 
Battle Hymn of the Republic, "Mine eyes have seen 
the glory of the coming of the Lord," at each lecture, 
which was greatly appreciated by all present. Major 
Longfield's son, a Lieutenant of the Royal Irish Horse 
Regiment, and Colonel G. Longfield, a brother of the 
Chairman, were present, as were several other dis- 
tinguished persons of County Cork. 

The lecturer spoke of America's earnest desire to 
bring the war to a close long before it became evi- 
dent that she herself would have to take any active 
part in it, and of the diplomatic notes sent by the 
President to Germany in the hope of restricting the 
war zone and the unwarranted submarine warfare. 
He stated that a great many believed that Germany's 
chief object in sending her submarines to Amer- 
ican ports, while she was ostensibly at peace with 
America, was not primarily to send gold and securi- 
ties and take back copper and rubber, but to show 
America in this object lesson what she could do if 
America entered the war. The long suffering and 
forbearance of America was pointed out, for she did 



196 THE IRISH TANGLE 

not enter the war until thousands of her citizens had 
been murdered on the high seas and several of her 
ships had been sunk, and she, as a nation, had been 
ordered to send only one ship, which should be 
painted in colors and stripes to suit the eyes of sub- 
marine captains, each week to the port of Falmouth. 
One ship, in the same kind of paint and stripes, would 
be allowed to sail from Falmouth for a port in 
America. 

The President and people of America refused 
to submit to this dictation, and remembering their 
glorious past and the honorable traditions committed 
to their trust by their forefathers, who had pledged 
to one another "their lives, liberty and sacred 
honor," sent the German Ambassador and his corps 
of assistants out of the country and declared that a 
state of war existed between Germany and the United 
States. The loyalty of the people and their desire to 
help to bring the offenders to a right state knew no 
bounds. Money was voted by billions, both to the 
Allied Nations and America for war purposes. Citi- 
zens offered their services for all kinds of work, and 
Red Cross aid became a fetish. Conscription was 
ordered for the young manhood, and a law was passed 
restoring to citizenship all who had joined Allied 
armies during the years of America's neutrality — as 
by joining to fight against nations with whom their 
country was legally at peace they had forfeited 
their American citizenship. America was sending 
her men to France by thousands weekly, and soon two 



AND A WAY OUT 197 

million soldiers and sailors would be representing 
America in the great war. 

An appeal was made to the men of Mallow and sur- 
rounding districts to maintain the traditions of the 
Irish, and to support their brethren who had gone out 
from Mallow, and from all parts of the British Em- 
pire, in the task to which they had consecrated all 
that they possessed. They were also reminded of the 
devotion and courage of their townsman. Captain 
Charles Longfield, son of Mr. and Mrs. R. E. Long- 
field, who had been killed in action a short time be- 
fore close to Jerusalem, and who had been mentioned 
in despatches for the "fearless leading of his Com- 
pany." 

The chairman thanked the lecturer, who had come 
from one of the greatest bases of supplies and en- 
thusiasm, for his addresses, after which "God Save 
the King" was sung. 

A lecture was given at Tullamore, where the lec- 
turer's aunt, Mrs. Costello, and her family, the Rector 
of Saint Catherine's, the Rev. R. S. Craig, M.A., 
Mr. R. H. Poole, and several others did a great deal 
toward organizing and making it known. The follow- 
ing account appeared in the daily press: 

''Ireland's Attitude the Test of America's 
Friendship 

The Rev. Thomas Costello Johnson, of Brooklyn, 
JVew York, gave an illustrated lecture in the Gym- 



198 THE IRISH TANGLE 

nasium, Tullamore, on Wednesday evening, 22d May, 
on 'What America Is Doing in the War.' After deal- 
ing with the unpreparedness of the world for the 
great German onslaught, he showed the thorough 
preparations Germany had made and her thorough- 
going methods of destroying life, religion and morals. 
In the course of his lecture he stated that about 1,000,- 
000 soldiers had already been sent to France from 
America, ten billion dollars had been given ; food and 
munitions. Red Cross funds, and men and women 
for the work, and that 120 million people were 
pledged to win the war in America, even should it 
cost all their gold and all their lives. He lauded Pres- 
ident Wilson, whose name must forever stand with the 
names of Washington and Lincoln. At the close he 
read the letter sent to him recently by ex-President 
Roosevelt. 

There was a good audience, and the lecturer's 
account of the whole-hearted way in which the great 
Republic of the West has entered into the struggle 
was heartily appreciated and elicited vigorous ap- 
plause. The lecture was illustrated by a large num- 
ber of excellent slides, and Mr. R. H. Poole kindly 
operated the lantern with his accustomed skill. A 
collection was made in support of the local Red Cross 
funds." 

In Dublin, through the kindness of the officers in 
charge of the Inter-Allied Exhibition for the After 
Care of Disabled Soldiers, to whom the Lord Mayor 



AND A WAY OUT 199 

had kindly lent the large building adjoining his resi- 
dence, a lecture was given. The following is taken 
from The Daily Express, August 15, 1918: 

"AMERICA AND THE WAR 
Inspiring Lecture by a Brooklyn Clergyman 

The great Inter-Allied Exhibition, at the Mansion 
House, demonstrating the steps being taken for the 
after-care of disabled men, is attracting considerable 
interest, and the Mansion House was crowded 
throughout yesterday, large numbers of enthusiastic 
visitors voicing their appreciation of the remarkable 
manner in which the Exhibition is being conducted, 
and of the many wonderful things to be seen there. 

A lecture was delivered in the Cinema Theatre 
in the evening by the Rev. T. C. Johnson, Brooklyn, 
U. S. A., entitled 'What America is Doing in the 
Great War.' 

The Rev. T. C. Johnson informed a press repre- 
sentative that the motives impelling him to lecture 
upon the subject of America and the war were purely 
patriotic, and were not inspired by anybody. 

The entry of a number of American sailors to the 
lecture hall was the signal for an outburst of applause, 
which the Americans smilingly acknowledged. 

The lecturer stated that there were innumerable 
instances of the almost unbearable insults offered by 
Germany to the United States, from the beginning 
of the war, but that country determined to bear with 



200 THE IRISH TANGLE 

them as long as possible, in order to observe, as far 
as possible, the spirit of the Monroe Doctrine, to re- 
main herself free and to avoid any interference in 
European politics. He well remembered the coming 
of Mr. A. J. Balfour to the United States on his mis- 
sion from Great Britain; he remembered the French 
mission, and, most touching of all, he remembered the 
mission from the stricken Belgian people. It touched 
the hearts of the Americans and they found it increas- 
ingly difficult at the time to refrain from entering the 
war. They were unprepared when 1914 arrived; 
they had few ships, little ammunition, and prac- 
tically no organization. But they had the spirit, and 
knew that Belgium had been almost bled to death, 
and that France was being overrun by the German 
soldiery — brave France, with her temples ruined and 
her shrines desecrated. War was brought to their 
very door; and submarines were sent to their coasts. 
It was no greed for gain that drove them into the 
war, for they had half the world's gold in their cof- 
fers. They had been doing all in their power to help 
the cause of the Allies from the beginning, and had 
sent huge supplies of food. They had sent their Red 
Cross, their bandages, their women, their men, and 
their money (applause). At last America did join 
in the struggle; and he recalled with feelings of patri- 
otic fervor a day when he stood upon Fifth Avenue 
and saw the first recruits swing past. And an inspir- 
ing picture they made, including, as they did, in their 
ranks soldiers of all nations. He crossed the 



ANDAWAYOUT 201 



Atlantic in the distinguished company of the 
Archbishop of York who delivered a stirring ser- 
mon, in the course of which he said to them: 'Do not 
forget that those in France have been fighting for 
four years. They are tired.' They would not for- 
get it; and they would have the world know that 
America was not in the war to win it, but she was 
there to help to win it. In conclusion, the lecturer said 
that the American people were shocked at the attitude 
of Irishmen towards the war. There were 'Irish' 
divisions in France being filled by men who were 
not Irish. If the Irish people wanted to recover their 
fallen prestige, and have the American nation take a 
genial, kindly interest in them, they would come for- 
ward and take their share in the struggle. This was 
a time when it behooved all Irishmen to throw their 
whole weight into the fight. 

Some interesting films were screened showing 
war-time scenes in America, the American soldiers 
in France, and in the course of their thorough 
training." 

The people of Ballymena and surrounding districts 
turned out to attend the recruiting meeting held there 
five thousand strong. It was the largest meeting that 
the writer had the honor of addressing while in Ire- 
land, and the sentiments voiced by those on the plat- 
form were unmistakably in favor of conscription 
for all Ireland. The following is from the Bally- 
mena Observer, August 23, 1918: 



202 THE IRISH TANGLE 

"The Chairman (Mr. H. Lancashire, J. P.), who 
was accorded an enthusiastic reception, said he could 
assure them it was a pleasing sight for him to look 
on at that vast audience. It was a great encourage- 
ment for the officers who had come there to put be- 
fore them the appeal for voluntary recruits. The first 
speaker that he wished to call upon was Colonel Sir 
John Leslie, an officer who had commanded the 12th 
Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, many of their own men 
from Ballymena having served under him at the camp 
out in Finner. Most of them might have private opin- 
ions about voluntary enlistment and conscription, but 
on every occasion that their King and country called 
on them, Ballymena rallied to the call. He felt quite 
confident that when it was made known, the same 
patriotic spirit would be shown that had been shown 
in the past by the men from Ballymena. They had 
a reputation to keep up, and he was quite sure that 
when they considered the call that was being made 
to them, they would never allow the reputation that 
Ballymena had had in the past to be lowered one iota. 
(Applause.) He would not detain them very much 
longer. They had distinguished and gallant men to 
address them, who would explain the whole scheme 
much better that he probably could, and without 
further delay he would call upon Colonel Sir John 
Leslie, who had been appointed by the Irish Recruit- 
ing Council to represent Ulster. (Applause.) 

Colonel Sir John Leslie, who was well received, 
said he would begin by introducing himself as an out- 



AND A WAY OUT 203 

and-out conscription ist. ('Hear, hear.') What had 
Ireland done that she should not have been asked be- 
fore to take her place side by side with the gallant 
sons of the rest of the United Kingdom? However, 
in place of conscription they had got what was called 
voluntary enlistment, and as in favor of voluntary 
enlistment they had got the opinion of that gallant 
soldier, Lord French — the most distinguished man 
of the day — and his opinion was that one volunteer 
was worth three conscripts. What he would like to 
see would be the joining of such a number of volim- 
teers that there would be no question of conscription 
at all. (Applause.) Their area, which was organ- 
ized by his friend. Major Montgomery, was asked for 
8,500 men. Surely an area containing such a county 
as County Antrim, and containing such a city as Bel- 
fast, and important towns like gallant Ballymena, 
should be capable of producing that number of men, 
and probably a great many more. The great war for 
freedom was not yet over, and not won by a long 
way. The Allies had to bring every man into the 
field the nations could produce to win the war as it 
should be won, and what he called winning the war 
as it should be won was to be able to cross the Rhine 
— (applause) — marching into Germany and dictating 
the terms of peace in Berlin. (Applause.) He, 
therefore, urged that that offer of voluntary enlist- 
ment should be eagerly accepted, to show that Ulster 
felt that she should have been asked for her men 
years ago, and that not only could they find the quota, 



^04 THE IRISH TANGLE 

but thousands besides. He asked them to think of 
the awful possibilities of them not winning the war, 
and to have to accept disadvantageous terms of peace. 
He appealed to every young man in the town or the 
country that could be spared from what they called 
war work — that was any work that promoted the war 
being carried on — that those young men should take 
their place in the ranks and help to avert any such 
misfortune as he had alluded to. Think of their own 
Ulster Division, and of the awful gaps in its ranks 
that had to be filled up by Englishmen, and, of the 
Irish divisions, which continued to be only Irish in 
name. As colonel of a reserve battalion, he had seen 
the gallant men returning to their reserves, to be re- 
stored to health and vigor, and he had seen them re- 
turning to the front for the third or fourth time with- 
out a murmur, their bodies covered with honorable 
scars. What were those men going to say when the 
war was over to those who stayed at home. Their 
harvest was good, and there would be middle-aged 
men enough left to save it, and they had their wives 
and daughters, who would help them. When the di- 
vision embarked for France remember that they 
cheered those men and that they would now have to 
take their place at their side. As for those who were 
left in towns, let him advise them to leave their coun- 
ters and leave off doing the work of women and fight 
for their women instead. (Applause.) Let women 
do women's work, and let them continue bravely to 
do the work of men, the admiration of the whole 



AND A WAY OUT 205 

world. Think of what the great armies in the field 
were saying of their stubborn Island that seemed 
to stand aloof. Think of the Canadians, Australians, 
and the mighty host of Americans who would elim- 
inate their name from the book of friendship as a na- 
tion worse than neutral. The good work of recruiting 
was begun, and was doing well in other provinces as 
well as Ulster, but let it never be said that Ulster did 
not continue to give a glorious and successful lead 
to the other provinces of Ireland. (Applause.) 

Mr. W. R. Young, Galgorm Castle, who was well 
received, said the first thing he ought to do would 
be to inform the recruiting deputation who had come 
there to Ballymena, that Ballymena had given to the 
voluntary enlistment system as large a number to the 
British Army as any other district of the same size 
and population in the United Kingdom, therefore he 
said in agreement with his friend Colonel Sir John 
Leslie, Mr. Ronald McNeill and Colonel McCalmont, 
that if conscription was necessary in England it was 
equally necessary here. They were in the proud posi- 
tion of knowing and realizing that in every great ef- 
fort, in every glorious fight that had been performed 
by the British Army since the opening of the war that 
the men from Ballymena had had their share. The 
men from Ballymena and district had been in the 
Mons retreat, in the Neuville attack, on the 1st July, 
on the Somme, and also at Messines Ridge, and on 
every other great occasion on the French front, to say 
nothing of the men from other ranks who were serv- 



206 THE IRISH TANGLE 

ing in Mesopotamia and in Russia and other fronts 
in this great war. He said at the same time that they 
had a great duty to perform. If they could not get 
the Government to give them conscription, they had 
got to find them men under the voluntary system. 
What a grand example they had in the Stars and 
Stripes, representing the United States, who were the 
latest among their Allies, but they realized what it 
meant in this great war. The press the previous day 
told them that by the end of next year the comrades 
of Rev. T. C. Johnson beside him would have found 
thirteen millions of men for the American Army, and 
millions of them would have found their way to 
France. Ireland and the Allies were included in the 
same partnership as America, and he said to Ireland, 
as he said to Ulster: let them remember that they 
were partners not only of Great Britain and France 
and Italy and parts of Russia, and they were bound 
as partners to find their proper quota of men, whether 
by conscription or under the voluntary system. He 
said to them that day, for God's sake remember the 
reputation of Ulster. He said to the young men un- 
der thirty, for God's sake remember that they are 
Ulstermen, remember that they shared in the partner- 
ship in the great war. 

Rev. Thomas C. Johnson, of Brooklyn, New York, 
also delivered an eloquent speech, in which he told 
of the glorious successes won by the Irish, who were 
the first to cross the Ourcq River, as they were going 
on to Berlin. In America he said they could not 



AND A WAY OUT 207 

keep the Irish out of the war, and he appealed to 
the young men present to do their part to assist them 
in this great struggle for liberty and humanity. 
(Cheers.)" 

Others who addressed the meeting were: Colonel 
Robertson, V.C; Colonel McCalmont, M.P.; Mr. 
Donald McNeill, M.P.; Major Drage, Lieut. Lanca- 
shire, Sergeant Gilmur, a local man who had won the 
D.C.M. at St. Quentin, and Major Montgomery. 

A very pleasing feature of the lecturer's tour was 
a visit to Rathfriland, where his sister, Mrs. M. 
Veage, who had given three sons to the Navy and 
Army during the war — the eldest of whom gave his 
life at the Dardanelles — resides. The Rev. T. B. 
Brown and several men of the town helped in arrang- 
ing for the meeting, which was held in a hall given 
by a patriotic citizen for that purpose. 

In the course of the lecture, which narrated Amer- 
ica's co-operation and her determination to see the 
war brought to a victorious finish, the lecturer paid 
tribute to what Ulster had done in the beginning of 
the war and of her desire and ability to contribute 
steadily of- her best "to make the world safe for de- 
mocracy." A collection was made for the work of 
the local Red Cross. 

At the request of Major Murphy a second lecture 
was given in Sligo, of which the following account ap- 
peared in The Sligo Independent, September 21, 
1918: 



208 THE IRISH TANGLE 

"WHAT AMERICA IS DOING IN THE GREAT 

WAR 

Eloquent Lecture by Rev. T. C. Johnson, of 
Brooklyn 

Interesting Scenes of Naval and Military Prepara- 
tions. — Large and Enthusiastic Audience. — The 
Position of Ireland. — Strong Appeals to the Young 
Manhood. 

It is wonderful how an Irish audience can be 
swayed from one side to the other. True, the Irish 
race is the most impulsive in the world. These facts 
were very strikingly borne out in the Town Hall, 
Sligo, on Tuesday evening last, when a very interest- 
ing lecture entitled 'What America is Doing in the 
Great War,' was delivered by the Rev. T. C. Johnson, 
Rector of the Parish of the Holy Spirit, Brooklyn, 
U. S. A. On the occasion of a recruiting meeting the 
previous week there was a considerable amount of 
hostility by Sinn Feiners, and the speakers' appeals on 
behalf of the cause of the Allies were drowned in in- 
terruptions. What a contrast was Tuesday night! Not- 
withstanding the fact that the Town Hall was filled to 
overflowing, there was not a single interruption, though 
there must have been many people present whose 
sympathies were with the Sinn Feiners. This was 
largely due perhaps to the atmosphere in which they 
dwell, but when taken away from their environment 
they become true and patriotic citizens. The lecture 



AND A WAY OUT 209 

certainly gave a great stimulus to patriotism, while 
the magnificent scenes of the tremendous energies dis- 
played by America in the interests of the Allies were 
so real and far-reaching that even an out-and-out 
Sinn Feiner must have felt that he was on the wrong 
side and against the cause of justice and right. Mr. 
W. R. Fenton, D.L., made an admirable chairman, 
and took the opportunity of putting before the young 
men in a very clear and impressive manner their clear 
path of duty in the war, while the Rev. T. C. Johnson 
sent it home to the entire audience by his eloquence 
and the forcible way in which he related why America 
was in the fight, and the great and increasing efforts 
she was putting forth to bring victory to the Allies. 
Throughout his lecture. Rev. T. C. Johnson held the 
rapt attention of the audience, who proved by their 
hearty plaudits at intervals their very high apprecia- 
tion of the lecture. Thanks to the efforts made by 
Major Murphy and the other officers and gentlemen 
attached to the recruiting headquarters in Sligo, the 
arrangements for the lecture were admirable, and 
the large audience were immensely pleased and en- 
joyed the proceedings to the fullest extent. 

The chairman, who had an enthusiastic ovation, 
said in the course of an excellent speech that he had 
been paid a great compliment by being asked to pre- 
side that evening, and it afforded him a great deal of 
pleasure indeed to be the medium of introducing to 
them the Rev. T. C. Johnson, of Brooklyn, New York, 
(Applause.) He was quite certain that as an Irish- 



210 THE IRISH TANGLE 

man from Cork, as a citizen of America, they would 
give the Rev. T. C. Johnson a warm welcome and en- 
thusiastic reception. (Applause.) Rev. T. C. John- 
son did not come over for the express purpose of the 
war, but while in Ireland he volunteered to help the 
great cause which they all had at heart. (Applause.) 
In connection with the lecture, he wished to take the 
opportunity of adding a few other remarks. He 
(Mr. Fenton) was very pleased to see such a large 
and splendid audience, and he was also delighted to 
see such a very orderly audience, because really 
they were going to have a treat, and he would be very 
sorry indeed if it was spoiled. At the same time, he 
wished to make some reference to recruiting, because 
the dominant issue in most of their minds at the pres- 
ent moment was to rally the young men of Ireland to 
the standard of the Allies, which was for justice and 
right. (Applause.) In that respect he wanted to ad- 
dress a few words to young Ireland and old Ireland. 
Amongst the latter there were many wise heads, and 
they could give good advice to the younger genera- 
tion. To young Irishmen he wished to make a strong 
appeal, and it was to ask them to come down from 
the clouds into the saner atmosphere of the world 
war which they found going on around them. He 
wanted to remind them that they had a duty to per- 
form, not only to their own kith and kin at home and 
in America, but to the noble and brave Irishmen who 
had fallen. To them in particular they had a duty 
to perform, and he trusted they would not forget that 



AND A WAY OUT 211 

obligation. Ireland had done remarkably well. She 
had sent out thousands of her sons to die for them all, 
and they went out nobly and faced fearful odds on 
the express understanding that those whom they left 
behind would send out others to take their places. 
Many of their sons had fallen in the battle, and surely 
the young Irishmen at home could never forget that. 
Now, he wished to say a few words to the older gen- 
eration. He limited himself to old friends and neigh- 
bors in his own native county of Sligo. It was by 
them the young men should be guided. He wished to 
impress upon them that in the course of four years of 
war not a single German bomb or gun had been heard 
in their country owing to the protection given to them 
by the greatest Empire in the world — the British Em- 
pire — to which we all had the honor and privilege to 
belong. (Applause.) Through the protection of 
that great Empire not a single stone in an Irish cot- 
tage had been disturbed, whilst France and Belgium, 
and many of the little, defenseless and peaceable 
countries of Europe had been flattened out and 
drenched with blood. He appealed to the older gen- 
eration to try and put some sense into the heads of 
the younger. They had the advantage of being mem- 
bers of the greatest Empire this world had ever seen, 
under whose protection they had lived in peace and 
prosperity for all those four years of this dreadful 
war that was destroying the greater part of the Con- 
tinent of Europe. But if they had their rights of 
citizenship, and their security from destruction 



212 THE IRISH TANGLE 

through the Armies and Navies of the Empire and her 
Allies, they had also their obligations, and one of 
those obligations — the most important at the present 
time — was to help recruiting. He appealed to the 
older generation to take off their cloak of com- 
placency and apathy towards the war. He did not 
think there was a case in the world's history in which 
any person, or body of persons, who deliberately re- 
fused to perform the solemn obligations and duties 
cast upon them could escape paying the penalty of 
their default. As sure as the tide ebbed and flowed, 
as certain as night followed day, if those people re- 
fused to come out into the open and take their places 
on the recruiting platforms of the country, there would 
be a corresponding repercussion in proportion, i.e., 
in a hundredfold proportion to the strength of the 
obligation and duty which had been so deliberately 
neglected. Were we going to leave a blot on the fair 
fame of Ireland, heretofore great chivalrous Ireland, 
on the escutcheon of their great fighting race, their 
ancient glory, by failing through their neglect to do 
their duty at the present time? If they did it would 
be a tragedy for which their country would suffer in 
the future for refusing to take her place amongst the 
great democracies of the world. Did they not hear 
the voice of their own kith and kin calling to them 
to come and take the places of those who had given 
their all — their lives — that their old men, their women 
and their little children might live in peace and hap- 
piness? He appealed to their better senses to come 



AND A WAY OUT 213 

and fill up the gaps of their Irish regiments, so that 
they themselves, and Ireland and Ireland's sons might 
still go down to posterity with imperishable fame. 
(Applause.) 

Rev. T. C. Johnson had a very warm welcome on 
coming forward to deliver his lecture. At the out- 
set he said it was a great pleasure to be in Sligo and 
stand on the platform of their Town Hall in support 
of the great cause which all good Irishmen had at 
heart. They were all very anxious that Ireland in 
that war should maintain her dignity and retain her 
splendid tradition by supporting the great recruit- 
ing campaign going on in Ireland at the present mo- 
ment. At a previous meeting in Sligo he received 
such a kind reception that he had a great desire 
to come back again. He therefore wished to return 
his sincere thanks for their cordial reception. He 
here mentioned how Germany had tried to cause trou- 
ble in Japan and Mexico. America, though deeply 
stirred, delayed coming into the war, but many Amer- 
icans could not curb their feelings, and only recently 
rights of citizenship had been restored to those who 
had forfeited them by joining Canadian, British and 
French units. America was not in the war for money 
or aggrandisement, but in the cause of humanity, 
right, and self-defense. America was sending men 
at the rate of 11,000 per day. Victory must be 
proclaimed in Berlin. (Applause.) Proceeding, 
the lecturer referred to the relationship which Ire- 
land had with America, and mentioned the part 



214 THE IRISH TANGLE 

which Irishmen had taken in the wars of the United 
States. He quoted the following from a news- 
paper published that day: 'Monsignor Lavelle, Car- 
dinal Farley's chief lieutenant, writing of the cheer- 
ing news from the front, says — "Our greatest delight 
is the news regarding the heroism of the 165th Reg- 
iment — formerly the old Irish 69th. It is splendid 
to see our highest hopes realized. They are the re- 
sult of American resource and Irish valor. There can- 
not be a finer combination in the world. Amongst 
others. Private M. J. Hughes, son of Mrs. B. M. 
Hughes, of County Kerry, was cited for bravery, hav- 
ing fought 6 Germans single-handed, killing 3, trick- 
ing the others, and getting away slightly wounded." ' 
(Loud applause.) Continuing, the lecturer stated 
that the world at present needed more of that spirit 
and valor, and that the whole American people were 
anxiously looking to Ireland to do her full part in the 
war. Ireland was expected to do great things, because 
of her wonderful tradition, and her desire to be 
reckoned among the worthy peoples and nations in 
those things that concern righteousness, justice and 
peace. He told of the brave deeds of a young Irishman, 
W. J. Bellatty, who, before the war, lived in his parish 
in Brooklyn. This young man volunteered for service 
in the American Navy, and when his ship, the Alcedo, 
was torpedoed in foreign waters, saved the ship's 
papers, and then rescued a fellow sailor who was 
drowning, for which he was promoted by the Secre- 
tary of the Navy; and he pleaded that Sligo should 



AND A WAY OUT 215 

send such men of courage and consecration into the 
Army and Navy without delay. The lecturer then 
told of receiving a comic drawing from a friend in 
America depicting the coming Peace Conference, in 
which all the warring Allied nations were represented, 
and at which Uncle Sam presided. Outside the door 
— as a foolish virgin — Erin was represented bewail- 
ing her inactivity in the war, and pleading to be ad- 
mitted, but without avail. That really represented 
what must take place if Ireland did not do her part 
and contribute largely and generously to the fight- 
ing force of the world while opportunity offered. The 
world looked to Ireland not for a ten or an eleven 
per cent, of the small quota of fighting men now 
asked without compulsion, but for the full comple- 
ment — and more — at least one hundred thousand able 
and worthy men. The lecturer here quoted from a 
letter he had recently received from ex-President 
Roosevelt — 'Say to the people of Ireland that the 
test of our friendship in the future for any nation 
should be that nation's attitude in this war.' The 
lecturer then pointed out the aims of America in 
the war, as stated in President Wilson's reply to the 
Pope, August 27, 1917, which are as follows: '(1) 
Recognition of the rights and liberties of nations; (2) 
principle, the government for the governed; (3) rep- 
aration for wrongs done and adequate safeguards; 
(4) no indemnities except as pa)nnent for manifest 
wrongs — a genuine co-operation of nations. No ma- 
terial profit. No aggrandisement of any kind. 



216 THE IRISH TANGLE 

America was fighting for no advantage or selfish ob- 
ject; she was fighting for the liberation of people 
from the aggression of autocratic force.' 

Results Already Attained in America 

She had repaired to God in humble supplication; 
she had been reunited, the old wounds had disap- 
peared; and she was now one in hope, consecration 
and service. She had been united with the world at 
large in that common solidarity — each seeking his 
neighbor's good, joined in common brotherhood. She 
had risen above material objects, and by sacrifice had 
found the greatest thing in the world. America had 
found her soul, and with God's aid was saving it. 
(Loud applause.) 

At the conclusion of the lecture a very interesting 
and instructive cinematograph exhibition was given. 

The proceedings concluded with the singing of 
'God Save the King.' " 

The writer greatly appreciated the privilege of 
addressing the people of Ireland on the war, and of 
assisting the Irish Recruiting Council in the great 
patriotic work which they had in hand during his stay 
in Ireland. Before leaving London for America, 
Colonel T. W. Sellar, in the absence of Lieutenant 
Cox, R.G.A., Secretary of the Irish Recruiting Coun- 
cil, sent him the following letter, which he values 
highly: 



AND A WAY OUT 217 

"Irish Recruiting Council, 
25 Kildare Street, Dublin, 
4th November, 1918. 

The Council on the occasion of the Rev. T. C. 
Johnson's departure from Ireland, desire to place on 
record their thanks for, and appreciation of, his valu- 
able assistance in addressing recruiting meetings, and 
in impressing upon Irish audiences, the interest with 
which America is watching Ireland's action during 
the war. 

A. M. Sullivan, 
H. McLaughlin, 
John Leslie, 
Stephen Gwynn, Capt., 
Maurice Dockrell." 



